ASUU has accused the Federal Government of prolonged neglect, warning that lecturers’ patience has run out over unresolved demands, including unpaid salaries and revitalisation of universities.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has expressed frustration over the Federal Government’s slow response to its long-standing demands, stating that lecturers have endured years of waiting and sacrificed much to sustain the nation’s tertiary education system.
ASUU President, Christopher Piwuna, made this known during an interview on The Morning Brief programme on Wednesday. He emphasised that the union had consistently adopted dialogue and demonstrated patience since Nigeria returned to democracy in 1999, yet government inaction persists.
“For years, we have engaged successive administrations, showing patience and understanding in a bid to resolve these issues. However, government machinery appears to work extremely slowly,” Piwuna said.
He noted that the union had engaged the current administration of President Bola Tinubu through two Ministers of Education — Prof. Tahir Mamman and Dr. Tunji Alausa — but little progress had been made.
Piwuna stressed that despite keeping universities open, government indifference might soon push the union to take stronger action.
On Tuesday, ASUU members staged a nationwide protest to highlight what they described as the government’s continued neglect of their key demands, which include:
- Full implementation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement
- Payment of outstanding salary arrears
- Settlement of withheld promotions
- Improved welfare packages for retired lecturers
The union warned that failure to address these issues could result in another nationwide strike. Piwuna added that repeated letters and calls for amicable resolution had been ignored, forcing ASUU to consider industrial action as the last resort.
