ASUU Threatens Strike, Demands Implementation of Renegotiated Agreement
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has threatened to embark on industrial action if the Federal Government fails to sign and implement the renegotiated 2009 agreement concluded in December 2024.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Monday, the ASUU Zonal Coordinator, Abuja Zone, Prof. Al-Amin Abdullahi, urged the government to take immediate action to avert another disruption in the university system.
He explained that the 2009 FG/ASUU Agreement, which addressed funding, staff welfare, and conditions of service, has only been partially implemented 17 years after it was signed. Abdullahi stressed that no country can achieve meaningful development beyond the standard of its university system.
In a related development, the ASUU Ibadan Zone also called on the government to implement the recommendations of the Yayale Ahmed committee report submitted in February. The Coordinator, Prof. Biodun Olaniran, who spoke in Ibadan, warned that failure to do so could trigger another nationwide strike. The zone comprises the University of Ibadan, University of Ilorin, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (Ogbomoso), Osun State University, Emmanuel Alayande University of Education, and Kwara State University, Malete.
Similarly, the ASUU Calabar Zone rejected the Federal Government’s Tertiary Institutions Staff Support Loan Scheme, describing it as a “poisoned chalice and unacceptable distraction.” Zonal Coordinator, Mr. Ikechuku Igwenyi, speaking in Uyo, argued that the scheme was designed without consulting the union and would further impoverish lecturers.
He added that the loan’s repayment conditions were unrealistic, noting that even professors could not repay a ₦10 million loan within 48 months. ASUU maintained that the government should focus on honouring the 2009 agreement rather than introducing policies that ignore the real issues confronting universities.
