Nigeria’s public universities face the imminent threat of another indefinite closure as the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) issues a final warning to the Federal Government, accusing the administration of insincerity and foot-dragging in addressing long-standing demands.
The union’s National Executive Council (NEC), following a recent meeting, expressed deep dissatisfaction with the sluggish pace of negotiations, stating that their earlier concession to suspend a two-week warning strike on October 22 was a “gesture of goodwill” that has not been reciprocated. The one-month ultimatum given to the government is set to expire on Friday, November 21, 2025.
The primary point of contention remains the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement, which aims to produce a new salary structure to replace the current, vastly inadequate Consolidated University Academic Salary Structure (CONUASS).
ASUU Zonal Coordinators across the country confirmed that the union has formally rejected the counter-offer presented by the Alhaji Yayale Ahmed-led committee, describing the proposed salary increment as “paltry,” “grossly inadequate,” and incapable of reversing the devastating brain drain currently plaguing the sector.
ASUU’s Position: “The Nigerian university lecturers are the worst paid in Africa, with a professor earning less than four hundred US Dollars ($400) monthly. Our members have remained on these poor salary structures for the past sixteen years,” noted a representative from the Port Harcourt Zone.
Beyond the salary structure, the union insists that key financial obligations remain unmet, including the payment of three and a half months of withheld salaries (from previous strike periods) and the non-release of the agreed-upon revitalization fund for universities.
ASUU has charged Nigerian students, parents, and civil society groups to hold the Federal Government accountable in the remaining hours, stressing that failure to resolve the demands before the deadline will leave the union with no option but to commence a full-blown industrial action.
