- Despite years of dialogue with the government, no meaningful progress has been made
- Piwuna disclosed that out of the ₦150 billion approved by the National Assembly for universities
- Federal Government has enforced a no work no pay policy on striking lecturers
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Friday urged the Federal Government to significantly increase funding for public universities, warning the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund that failure to do so will result in ongoing strikes and a further decline in higher education standards.
Eko Hot Blog reports that ASUU President, Dr. Chris Piwuna, said the current two week warning strike, which began on October 13, was triggered by issues that have remained unresolved since 2011. He added that despite years of dialogue with the government, no meaningful progress has been made.
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“We engaged the Federal Government for eight years without tangible results,” Piwuna said. He pointed to the Yayale Ahmed Committee report, submitted in December 2024, as one of several key documents that the government failed to act on until the union resorted to strike action.
According to Piwuna, ASUU’s main demands include proper and sustained funding for universities, better working conditions, respect for academic freedom, and full autonomy for institutions. He also challenged the Senate to take action by pushing the government to release more funds.
“Try us. Push the government to fund universities adequately and you will see an end to strikes and better global rankings for our schools,” he told lawmakers.
Piwuna disclosed that out of the ₦150 billion approved by the National Assembly for universities, only ₦50 billion has been released so far. He further alleged that the Ministry of Education is planning to divide the funds among universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, despite each having separate allocations.
He warned that the ₦150 billion was approved specifically for universities and must be used for that purpose alone. Diverting any part of it, he said, would only deepen the crisis in the education sector.
In a separate matter, ASUU raised alarm over alleged attempts by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to take part of the 10,000 hectares of land belonging to the University of Abuja. The union accused the minister of ignoring multiple warnings and continuing to show interest in the university’s land.
“We are concerned because the University of Abuja is in the FCT. If the minister wants land, he should look elsewhere,” the union said, appealing to the Senate to intervene and protect the institution’s property.
ASUU also reminded the government of previous agreements, including the 2009 FGN-ASUU deal, the release of withheld salaries, and the need for long term plans to strengthen public universities.
In response to the current strike, the Federal Government has enforced a no work no pay policy on striking lecturers, though it says it remains open to further negotiations.
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