THE Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has declared a two-week total and comprehensive warning strike across all public universities in Nigeria, beginning midnight, Monday, October 13, 2025.
News Point Nigeria reports that the declaration was made by ASUU National President, Professor Chris Piwuna, during a press briefing held on Sunday at the University of Abuja.
According to Piwuna, the strike follows the expiration of a 14-day ultimatum issued to the Federal Government on September 28, 2025, over unresolved issues concerning lecturers’ welfare, university funding, and the long-standing implementation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement.
“Compatriots of the press, it goes without saying that there is nothing sufficient on ground to stop the implementation of the ASUU-NEC’s resolution to embark on a two-week warning strike at the expiry of the 14-day notice given on the 28th of September 2025,” Piwuna said.
“Consequently, all branches of ASUU are hereby directed to withdraw their services with effect from midnight on Monday, the 13th of October, 2025.
The warning strike shall be total and comprehensive as agreed at the last NEC meeting,” he declared.
The latest industrial action marks yet another episode in the long-running standoff between ASUU and the Federal Government over unmet demands concerning university revitalisation funds, earned academic allowances, and the adoption of university-specific payment systems to replace the controversial Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
The Federal Government, on its part, had recently indicated progress in negotiations with the union.
Last Wednesday, Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, announced that the government had entered the final phase of talks with ASUU and other tertiary education unions to avert disruptions in academic calendars nationwide.
Alausa disclosed that President Bola Tinubu’s administration had approved ₦50 billion for the settlement of Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) and earmarked an additional ₦150 billion in the 2025 national budget for university needs assessment projects, to be disbursed in three tranches.
Despite these assurances, ASUU insists that the government has failed to meet key aspects of previous agreements, prompting the union’s decision to proceed with the industrial action.
Efforts to reach the Ministry of Education for an official reaction were unsuccessful as of press time.
