By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan The Academic Staff Union of Universities, (ASUU) on Monday, alerted of looming "avoidable round of industrial crisis"
By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan
The Academic Staff Union of Universities, (ASUU) on Monday, alerted of looming “avoidable round of industrial crisis” in Nigeria public universities.
Raising the alarm, the Ibadan Zone of the union at a press conference addressed by its Zonal Coordinator, Prof. ‘Biodun Olaniran, at the University of Ibadan, Ibadan asked Nigerians to prevail on the Federal government to accede to all our demands to avert another disruption of academic calendars in our universities.
ASUU at the Press conference said ” this looming threat is fueled by the Federal Government’s piecemeal and frustrating handling of unresolved matters affecting Universities.
” The Ibadan Zone of ASUU, in particular, is drawing the attention of Nigerians once again to the urgent need to prevent another avoidable round of industrial crisis in public universities”, it said.
The union added, ” This looming threat is fueled by the Federal Government’s piecemeal and frustrating handling of unresolved matters affecting Universities.The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), is once again compelled to address the press, and by extension, the nation, regarding the growing signs of industrial unrest within the Nigerian university system”.
” The relative calm experienced in our universities over the past few months is largely due to our union’s hope that the government would, this time, honour its promises and take decisive steps to resolve the long-standing issues that have plagued the system”.
ASUU noted, ” Our members are increasingly frustrated with the government’s delay tactics, the so-called ‘keep them talking’ syndrome. The union is well aware of the planned meeting scheduled for August 28, 2025, but the prevailing sentiment among our members is clear: they are no longer willing to be dragged along endlessly, without tangible outcomes”.
The union stated ” It is public knowledge that our salaries have remained virtually stagnant for the past sixteen (16) years, despite the clear understanding that the 2009 renegotiated agreement would be reviewed every three (3) years.
Unfortunately, it took the government a staggering eight (8) years—until 2017—to even constitute renegotiation committee for this purpose”.
According to ASUU ” Our members are increasingly frustrated with the government’s delay tactics, the so-called ‘keep them talking’ syndrome. The union is well aware of the planned meeting scheduled for August 28, 2025, but the prevailing sentiment among our members is clear: they are no longer willing to be dragged along endlessly, without tangible outcomes”.
ASUU said, ” As we have warned before, even a goat, when pushed to the wall, will eventually react. Sustainable funding/ Revitalization of universities The current state of our university system urgently demands attention due to years of persistent neglect and visible decline that have nearly brought the sector to its knees”.
“While other countries steadily advance by allocating the UNESCO-recommended 15–26% of their national budgets to education, Nigeria continues to fall short, barely reaching 7% in the 2025 budget. This underfunding has severely affected the quality of education, limiting access, resources, and the ability of our institutions to compete on a global scale.
” Notably, Nigeria lags behind nations like Kenya and Ghana, which allocate 20% and 13% of their budget respectively.The government’s long-standing promise of a ₦150 billion investment in the sector has remained unfulfilled—another broken commitment.”
It stated ” Our universities are now plagued by chronic underfunding: laboratories lie empty, and scholars are deprived of the tools and resources needed to conduct cutting-edge researches. Alarmingly, no Nigerian public university ranks among the top 1000 globally. The physical decay of lecture rooms and the deplorable state of student accommodations further underscore the crisis”.
” Our union’s demands are clear: there must be a deliberate and purposeful commitment to adequate funding in order to rescue our institutions from impending collapse.ASUU continues to urge the Federal Government to address the following:Re-negotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement Sustainable funding/Revitalization of universities University Autonomy Victimization of our members in LASU, KSU, and FUTO Outstanding 25-35% salary areas and Third-Party Deductions Promotion Arrears for over 4 years Non payment and mainstreaming of Earned Academic Allowance in Public Universities Renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement.
” The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), is once again compelled to address the press, and by extension, the nation, regarding the growing signs of industrial unrest within the Nigerian university system. The relative calm experienced in our universities over the past few months is largely due to our union’s hope that the government would, this time, honour its promises and take decisive steps to resolve the long-standing issues that have plagued the system”.
Others ASUU leaders at the Press conference are University of Ilorin, Ilorin; Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso; Osun State University, Osogbo; Kwara State University, Malete; and Emmanuel Alayande University of Education, Oyo). Chairpersons in the Zone in attendance:Dr Adefemi AFolabi – ASUU-UIDr. Alex Akanmu – ASUU-UNILORIN,Dr. Olujimi Dada – ASUU-LAUTECH Dr. Wende Olaosebikan – ASUU-UNIOSUNProf Shehu Salau – ASUU-KWASUDr. Bamidele Ojo – ASUU-EAUED.
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