By Mahdi Waziri Isa
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to address seven longstanding demands, failing which it will commence a nationwide strike.
The union’s National Executive Council reached the decision at a meeting on Sunday at the University of Abuja. In a strike notice signed by its National President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, and made available to journalists in Abuja, ASUU declared that the government’s persistent neglect of the university system had forced its hand.
“Accordingly, ASUU has given the Federal Government of Nigeria an ultimatum of 14 days within which to address these issues. If at the end of the 14-day ultimatum, the Federal Government fails to address these issues, the union may have no option but to, first, embark on a two-week warning strike and, thereafter, a total and indefinite strike,” Piwuna stated.
The key demands include the re-negotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement, sustainable funding and revitalization of universities, payment of outstanding 25–35% salary arrears, promotion arrears spanning over four years, and an end to the victimization of its members at Lagos State University, Prince Abubakar Audu University, and the Federal University of Technology Owerri.
The ultimatum comes despite the Federal Ministry of Education having set up a committee to engage with the union, though the committee’s findings have not been made public. The move signals a potential return to the industrial disputes that have repeatedly paralyzed Nigeria’s public university system.