ASUU has declared a two-week nationwide warning strike starting Monday, October 13.
President Chris Piwuna said it follows government’s failure to meet lecturers’ long-standing demands.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has announced a total, two-week warning strike across all public universities in Nigeria, beginning midnight on Monday, October 13, 2025.
ASUU’s National President, Professor Chris Piwuna, made the declaration on Sunday during a press briefing at the University of Abuja. He said the decision followed the expiration of a 14-day ultimatum issued to the Federal Government on September 28.
Piwuna explained that the action became necessary after the government failed to address long-standing issues affecting university lecturers and the nation’s higher education system. He said all branches of ASUU have been directed to suspend academic activities for the duration of the warning strike.
He stated, “There is nothing on ground to prevent the implementation of ASUU-NEC’s resolution to embark on a two-week warning strike. All members are to withdraw their services with effect from midnight on Monday.”
The strike, he added, will be total and comprehensive, as agreed during the union’s last National Executive Council (NEC) meeting.
The new industrial action comes despite ongoing negotiations between the Federal Government and the union aimed at resolving disputes over lecturers’ welfare, university funding, and implementation of earlier agreements.
On Wednesday, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, said the government was in the final phase of talks with ASUU and other university unions. He noted that the administration of President Bola Tinubu had released ₦50 billion for the payment of Earned Academic Allowances and included another ₦150 billion in the 2025 budget for needs assessment, to be disbursed in three stages.
Despite these assurances, ASUU insists that most of the union’s demands, particularly those relating to the full implementation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement, improved funding for universities, and better working conditions, remain unresolved.
The warning strike is expected to disrupt academic activities in public universities nationwide, including ongoing examinations and lectures. Students and parents have expressed concerns that the move could once again extend the academic calendar and delay graduations.
ASUU officials said the two-week strike is meant to compel the government to take concrete steps toward fulfilling its promises, warning that failure to do so may lead to a full-scale industrial action.
Government representatives have yet to issue an official response to the latest development.
