From Victor Osula, Abuja
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has threatened to shut down public universities if the Federal Government fails to meet its demands within the next 14 days.
The warning followed the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held on Sunday, at the University of Abuja.
In a statement on Monday, ASUU President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, said lecturers could no longer tolerate the government’s neglect of the university system and failure to honour existing agreements.
He explained that if the ultimatum expires without progress, the union would embark on a two-week warning strike, to be followed by a total and indefinite industrial action.
“At the National Executive Council meeting held at the University of Abuja on the 28th of September, 2025, the Union decried the neglect of the University system and the government’s consistent refusal to heed to its demands. Accordingly, ASUU has given the Federal Government of Nigeria an ultimatum of fourteen (14) days within which to address these issues. If at the end of the fourteen-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 said.
Among ASUU’s demands are the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement with the Federal Government, adequate revitalisation funds for universities, settlement of outstanding salary arrears, and the creation of sustainable funding mechanisms.
The Federal Government had earlier set up a committee headed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Abel Enitan, to review ASUU’s proposals, but no outcome has been made public.
Stakeholders fear that another strike could throw students and parents into fresh uncertainty, barely a year after universities recovered from prolonged disruptions.
