By Deborah Nnamdi
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has declared a total and comprehensive two-week warning strike across all public universities in Nigeria.
The National President of ASUU, Professor Chris Piwuna, announced the decision during a press conference held on Sunday at the University of Abuja.
Piwuna explained that the strike followed the expiration of the 14-day ultimatum issued to the Federal Government on September 28, 2025, without any tangible response to the union’s demands.
He said all ASUU branches nationwide had been directed to commence a full withdrawal of services beginning at midnight on Monday, October 13, 2025.
According to him, the action would be both total and comprehensive, in line with resolutions reached at the union’s most recent National Executive Council (NEC) meeting.
ASUU had earlier issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government, lamenting what it described as the continued neglect of the university system and the poor welfare of academic staff.
The union recalled that members across federal and state universities held rallies in August to draw attention to the lingering issues in the sector, but said no meaningful action had been taken by the government.
“The federal and state governments have continued to show little or no concern for the education sector and the welfare of university lecturers,” ASUU stated in its strike notice.
Last week, the Federal Government appealed to ASUU to suspend the planned strike, assuring that efforts were being made to address its demands. The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, said a reconstituted Federal Government Tertiary Institutions Negotiation Committee had begun fresh talks with university unions on the outstanding issues.
However, ASUU described the government’s appeal as “coming a little too late,” accusing it of being slow and unresponsive to previous engagements.
“We accepted three weeks for the government to act, but nothing was done until the ultimatum elapsed. Now, just two working days before the strike, they are appealing to us. The appeal has come a little too late,” Professor Piwuna said.
He maintained that the strike would go ahead as planned unless the government took immediate steps to meet the union’s long-standing demands, including the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement.
