The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has announced a two-week warning strike beginning on Monday, October 13, 2025, to press for the resolution of its long-standing demands by the Federal Government.
ASUU President, Professor Chris Piwuna, disclosed this on Sunday at a press conference in Abuja, directing all branches of the union to withdraw their services from 12:01 a.m. on Monday.
The decision followed the expiration of the two-week ultimatum the union earlier gave the government to meet its demands.
Piwuna said the meeting held with government representatives on Friday failed to produce any meaningful outcome, noting that the offer presented by the government was not enough to prevent the planned strike.
“It goes without saying that there is nothing sufficient on ground to stop the implementation of ASUU-NEC’s resolution to embark on a two-week warning strike at the expiry of the 14 days’ notice given on 28th September, 2025.
Consequently, all branches of ASUU are hereby directed to withdraw their services with effect from midnight (12:01 a.m.) on Monday, 13th October, 2025. The warning strike shall be total and comprehensive as agreed at the last NEC meeting,”
Piwuna stated.
ASUU’s demands include the re-negotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement, sustainable funding and revitalisation of public universities, and an end to the victimisation of union members at Lagos State University (LASU), Kogi State University (now Prince Abubakar Audu University), and the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), among others.
The announcement came despite appeals from the Federal Government for the union to shelve the planned strike.
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The Minister of Education, Dr. Olatunji Alausa, had earlier urged ASUU to give the government more time, saying some of the issues had lingered for over 15 years. Speaking before a high-level meeting on the FGN/ASUU 2025 proposed agreement in Abuja last week, Alausa said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was committed to resolving the issues in a comprehensive and sustainable manner.
He explained that the President had directed that the strike be avoided, reaffirming his commitment to addressing the union’s concerns.
According to him, “there is no basis for ASUU or any other staff unions in tertiary institutions to embark on industrial action,” adding that “the directive of the President is clear — strike must be averted for Nigerian children to be in school.”
ASUU had earlier, on September 28, issued a 14-day ultimatum to the government to meet its demands or face industrial action.
Dr. Alausa also disclosed that the government had begun implementing parts of the union’s demands.
He noted that N50 billion had been released as Earned Academic Allowance, while N150 billion was allocated in the 2025 budget as a revitalisation fund for tertiary institutions.
He added that outstanding promotion arrears would be captured in the 2026 budget.