Breaking: Nationwide strike looms as ASUU issues 21-day notice

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has issued a 21-day strike notice.

The union issued the notice on Monday to the Federal Government.

This decision was confirmed by sources within the National Executive Council (NEC) of ASUU following a meeting at the University of Ibadan.

The strike notice, which is a procedural requirement under labor laws, will be sent to the Federal Ministries of Labour and Education. ASUU emphasized that this notice is not an ultimatum but a formal step to comply with legal requirements.

The union’s decision comes amid ongoing disputes over the non-implementation of agreements with the federal government.

On June 26, the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, had convened a meeting with ASUU to address the issues and prevent the planned strike. However, ASUU President Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke stated that the agreements reached during the meeting had not been fulfilled.

Key issues include the non-implementation of the 2009 re-negotiated agreements, which have been pending for over six years, and the accumulation of academic allowances for the same period.

Additionally, ASUU is concerned about the lack of progress on the revitalisation fund, which was agreed upon in the Needs Assessment Report to raise N200 billion annually for five years. Since 2013, only one installment has been paid.

Osodeke also criticized the government’s approval of new universities without adequate funding, exacerbating the problems within the higher education sector.