The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has dismissed the Federal Government’s last-minute appeal to suspend its planned warning strike, insisting that the industrial action will commence on October 13 as scheduled. ASUU President, Professor Chris Piwuna, announced this on Thursday during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, where he accused the government of failing to address the union’s long-standing demands despite repeated opportunities to do so.
Piwuna criticized the Ministry of Education for what he described as its habitual delay in responding to critical issues affecting university lecturers.
“The problem we have with this government and this Ministry of Education is that they are slow in responding to our demands,” he said.
He explained that after a meeting held in Sokoto weeks ago, ASUU gave the government a three-week window to address its grievances. However, he noted that there was no communication from the government throughout that period.
“They gave us three weeks, we accepted the three weeks, but we never heard a word from them until the three weeks elapsed—not even the courtesy to say, ‘Oh gentlemen, we are running short on time; we’ll meet with you on another date,’” he added.
On September 28, ASUU had issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to meet its demands or face a two-week warning strike that could lead to a total shutdown of public universities.
Earlier this week, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, said the government was in the final phase of discussions with ASUU and other university-based unions to resolve lingering issues, including staff welfare, funding for public universities, and the full implementation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement.
Piwuna disclosed that the government only reached out two working days before the planned strike, appealing to the union to suspend its action.
“Yesterday, they appealed to us not to embark on action. Our 2009 agreement, which is still being renegotiated after eight years, remains undone. We have not concluded on it, and two working days before a strike action, you come to appeal to us. I think the appeal has come a little too late,” he said.
He maintained that the government’s consistent delays in implementing agreements on funding and welfare had forced the union into repeated industrial actions.
According to him, ASUU will proceed with its warning strike at the expiration of its ultimatum on Sunday unless the government takes concrete steps within the next 48 hours.
“Their ultimatum expires on Sunday, and after that, there will be a warning strike unless something substantial comes from the government. So, within the next 24 to 48 hours, we expect a meaningful response. Then we can go back to our members and ask, ‘Do you think this is sufficient for us to hold on?’ and we’ll act based on their decision,” he stated.
Piwuna further said the union has lost confidence in the government’s promises, accusing it of treating negotiations like a game.
“We have never trusted any government. Governments have never come through with what they promised us. The government sees our engagement like a football they need to dribble—you touch it, you pass it, you come back again,” he said.
He added that while ASUU is open to dialogue, the government must demonstrate genuine commitment to resolving the issues before it can regain the union’s trust.
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