The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has declared a two-week nationwide warning strike, a move that will halt academic activities across public universities in Nigeria beginning from midnight, Monday, October 13, 2025. The decision came after the expiration of a 14-day ultimatum earlier issued to the Federal Government led by President Bola Tinubu, which the union said failed to address lingering issues affecting the nation’s tertiary education system.
In a circular signed by ASUU’s National President, Professor Chris Riwuna, the union directed all its branches to fully withdraw their services during the two-week warning strike. The circular, titled “Strike Bulletin No. 1,” made it clear that the industrial action would be “total and comprehensive,” stressing that there was no valid reason to delay the decision any further.
According to ASUU, the strike followed a referendum conducted across its branches nationwide where members voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action after years of government neglect and unfulfilled promises. The union said the Tinubu administration has continued to ignore key agreements, including the payment of earned academic allowances, release of revitalization funds for public universities, settlement of withheld salaries, and the review of lecturers’ welfare packages. It also accused the government of abandoning the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement, a document meant to ensure proper funding, better working conditions, and improved autonomy for universities.
Professor Riwuna lamented that despite several notifications to the Ministers of Labour and Education, and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the government failed to engage meaningfully with the union. He described the negotiation process as “tortuous” and unnecessarily prolonged, noting that lecturers have endured over eight years of broken promises and half-hearted efforts from successive administrations.
ASUU explained that the two-week strike is not just about salaries or allowances but a necessary action to compel the government to take university education seriously. The union argued that the continuous neglect of the sector is pushing many talented lecturers out of the country in search of better opportunities, a trend widely known as the Japa syndrome. It warned that unless urgent steps are taken to address the issues, Nigeria risks losing its brightest minds to foreign institutions that value education.
Sources within ASUU told revealed that the decision was reached after extensive consultations with its members who expressed frustration over the government’s disregard for their welfare and the overall decay of public universities. The strike, they said, is a wake-up call for authorities to act before the situation escalates into a full-blown crisis.
The standoff between ASUU and the Federal Government has become a recurring feature in Nigeria’s education sector, with students often bearing the brunt of prolonged academic disruptions. Education experts have warned that continued government inaction could plunge the nation’s universities into deeper decline.
While the Federal Government is yet to issue an official response, the two-week warning strike has sent a strong signal to the authorities. ASUU insists that this time, it wants more than promises — it wants action. “The ball is now in the government’s court,” one ASUU official said. “If they truly value education, this is the time to prove it.”