JUST IN: ASUU members begin nationwide protest

Members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has began a nationwide protest on Tuesday, criticizing what they described as the Federal Government’s continued neglect of their longstanding demands

At the University of Jos, lecturers demonstrated before addressing journalists, rejecting the recently introduced Tertiary Institution Staff Support Fund (TISSF) loan scheme.

ASUU branch chairperson Joseph Molwus described the scheme as a “poison chalice” that would push lecturers further into financial hardship instead of addressing their legitimate entitlements. “How can the government ask us to borrow money for healthcare, school fees, and basic needs when it still owes us withheld salaries, allowances, and arrears?” he asked.

Similar protests were held at the University of Lagos, where lecturers carried placards demanding payment of arrears, improved welfare, and a renegotiation of the 2009 FG-ASUU agreement.

The University of Benin in Edo State and the Federal University Gusau in Zamfara State also witnessed demonstrations, with lecturers warning the government to honour the 2009 agreement or face another strike. Abdulrahman Adamu, ASUU chairman at Gusau, criticized the government’s neglect of universities, noting that funding is left primarily to TETFUND while academic staff endure ongoing hardships. He revealed that the government still owes lecturers three and a half months’ salaries from the 2020 strike, alongside unpaid promotion and wage award arrears of 25–35 months.

At the Federal University Dutse in Jigawa State, lecturers protested over three months of unpaid salary arrears. Union chairman Isma’il Ahmad said current salaries are insufficient to sustain livelihoods and insisted that the government release funds to settle outstanding obligations, including salaries, academic allowances, promotion arrears, revitalisation funds, wage awards, and unremitted third-party deductions.

ASUU also condemned the government for failing to conclude renegotiations of the 2009 FGN-ASUU agreement, accusing it of abandoning collective bargaining despite years of engagement. The union warned that the industrial peace universities have enjoyed for over two years is at risk, and unless urgent action is taken, another prolonged shutdown of academic activities could occur.

The lecturers recalled President Bola Tinubu’s 2022 campaign promise that university strikes would not occur under his administration. They expressed disappointment that two years in, key issues remain unresolved and appealed for the president’s personal intervention to restore hope to lecturers and the education sector. ASUU affirmed its commitment to dialogue but cautioned that patience is running out and immediate action from the government is needed to avert a crisis.

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