Deborah Akinyosoye
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Tuesday staged coordinated protests across campuses nationwide to press home long-standing demands from the Federal Government, two days before a crucial meeting scheduled for Thursday in Abuja.
From Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, to Federal University of Lafia, University of Ilorin, University of Calabar, Abia State University, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto, Federal University of Technology Akure, Plateau State University, University of Maiduguri, and Osun State University, lecturers marched with placards, chanting solidarity songs and warning of an imminent strike if government continued to ignore their plight.
Across the campuses, the demands remained consistent: implementation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement, release of three and a half months withheld salaries, payment of outstanding 25–35 per cent salary arrears, promotion arrears, revitalisation of universities, rejection of the government’s proposed tertiary institution staff loan scheme, and adoption of UTAS over IPPIS to preserve university autonomy.
ASUU, however, has called on stakeholders, including the National Assembly, religious leaders, traditional rulers and students, to caution the Federal Government against pushing university teachers to embark on a nationwide strike.
The call came on the heels of protests by members of the union across the country, especially in Federal Government-owned universities.
At OAU, ASUU Chairperson, Prof. Tony Odiwe, said lecturers had remained on the same salary scale since 2009 and accused the government of deliberately stalling on the report of the Yayale Ahmed renegotiation committee submitted in February 2025.
He warned that the government would be held responsible if industrial peace on campuses collapsed.
Similarly, ASUU’s Akure Zonal Coordinator, Prof. Adeola Egbedokun, declared at FUOYE that patience among academics had reached a breaking point.
“Our members teach on empty stomachs, live in debt, and can no longer afford basic needs. If the government chooses provocation over responsibility, then it alone must bear the consequences,” he said.
In Lafia, ASUU Branch Chairperson, Sunday Orinya, accused the government of deceit and neglect, lamenting the deaths of lecturers due to pauperisation and hardship. He reiterated demands for withheld salaries, promotion arrears, and proper funding of universities.
At Plateau State University, ASUU members were joined by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Shedrack Best, and the National President, Prof. Chris Piwuna.
They decried poor salaries, non-payment of allowances, and enforcement of IPPIS, warning that the autonomy of universities was under siege.
In Sokoto, protests drew members from three universities, with UDUS Chairman, Prof. Nurudeen Almustapha, demanding immediate implementation of the Yayale Ahmed report and describing the government’s loan scheme as a “poisoned chalice.”
At UNILORIN, protesters carried placards reading “University workers are not slaves” and “Honour your agreement with ASUU.”
Branch Chair, Dr. Alex Akanmu, said Nigeria’s refusal to implement its own agreements had further pauperised lecturers and left the university system near collapse.
In Akure, FUTA ASUU Chair, Prof. Pius Mogaji, condemned the government’s “reckless indifference” to the Yayale Ahmed report and warned that “all options remain on the table.”
At UNICAL, Branch Chairperson, Peter Ubi, accused the government of destroying trust and pushing members into debt, while in Maiduguri, ASUU members protested poor retirement benefits, unpaid arrears, and the renaming of the institution after former President Muhammadu Buhari without consultation.
In Umuahia, Abia State University lecturers carried placards rejecting the government loan scheme and lamenting unpaid salaries.
At UNIOSUN, Chairperson, Dr. Wende Olaosebikan, criticised non-payment of salary increments and alleged victimisation of lecturers.
Across the campuses, the lecturers warned that if the Federal Government failed to act decisively at Thursday’s meeting, the fragile calm on campuses would give way to another nationwide strike.