The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has warned of a looming strike in the university system, accusing the Federal Government of failing to fully implement the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement and distorting key provisions of the deal.
The union raised the alarm in a statement following its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held at the Modibbo Adama University, Yola, Adamawa State.
ASUU President, Christopher Piwuna, said the union had maintained “a studied silence” since the signing and public presentation of the agreement, but was now compelled to speak after reviewing its implementation.
“The momentum generated with the unveiling of the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement is fast waning and may soon be lost if government’s promise to fully implement the agreement is not kept,” he said.
The union expressed concern that the Implementation Monitoring Committee (IMC), which was expected to guide execution of the agreement and prevent bureaucratic delays, had not been inaugurated.
It also accused government agents of implementing the agreement “in a distorted and uncoordinated manner,” while several state governments had not fully complied.
ASUU further criticised university administrators for selectively implementing allowances, saying “administrators of Federal universities are picking and choosing among what to pay among the Consolidated Academic Tool Allowances (CATA), Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) and Professorial Allowances (PA).”
The union warned that it would continue to press for full implementation of all components of the eight-year negotiation process between 2017 and 2025.
ASUU also faulted the Federal Government’s proposed National Research and Innovation Development Fund, arguing that it was introduced without input from the union and did not reflect provisions already agreed upon.
“We shall resist any attempt to hijack and derail the research and development agenda by external agents and their local collaborators,” the union stated.
It insisted that funding for research had been clearly pegged at “at least 1% equivalent of GDP” in the agreement.
On welfare matters, ASUU listed several unresolved issues including salary arrears, promotion arrears, withheld salaries from the 2022 strike, unremitted deductions, and pension delays, describing the situation as unacceptable.
“No country can progress when the welfare issues of its academics are left unattended,” the union said.
It added that the continued application of the “no work, no pay” policy was unjust given that lecturers still carry out research and community service during strike periods.
The union also criticised recent policy decisions in the education sector, including the reversal of the mother-tongue policy in early childhood education, describing it as “retrogressive.”
Credit: Thenation
