ASUU Warns Of Fresh Crisis In Nigerian Universities

By: Julian Osamoto

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Abuja Zone, has accused the Federal Government of neglecting critical issues affecting the Nigerian University System, warning that the refusal to honour the renegotiated 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement and continued underfunding of public universities could plunge the system into another round of crisis.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday at the University of Abuja, the Zonal Coordinator, Prof. Al-Amin Abdullahi, said that despite nearly two years of relative peace in Nigerian universities under the President Tinubu administration, the federal government has failed to show commitment to resolving long-standing concerns raised by the union.

“The draft renegotiated agreement was concluded in December 2024 and submitted to government in February 2025, yet the federal government has not indicated readiness to sign it. This document is urgently needed to address deteriorating conditions in our universities,” Abdullahi stated.

The union listed unresolved issues to include: the implementation of a new condition of service for academics, revitalisation of public universities, university autonomy and academic freedom, and a reassessment of the legal frameworks regulating bodies such as the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

ASUU lamented that successive governments have deliberately underfunded universities, resulting in dilapidated infrastructure, overcrowded classrooms, poorly equipped laboratories, and inhabitable hostels. It insisted that both federal and state governments must adhere to the UNESCO convention by allocating increased budgetary provisions to education.

On the state of the nation, the union expressed concern over worsening insecurity, high inflation, soaring exchange rates, and rising poverty, noting that the economic hardship has eroded the purchasing power of academics and rendered the renegotiated salary scale meaningless.

As part of its demands, ASUU called for the unconditional release of its withheld three and a half months’ salaries, payment of promotion arrears, release of third-party deductions to unions and cooperatives, payment of one-year arrears of the 25/35% salary award, and full implementation of the new conditions of service. It also insisted on the adoption of UTAS (TITAS) as the payment platform for universities.

Prof Abdullahi warned that the crisis in Nigeria’s universities is not an ASUU problem but a national problem, stressing that neglecting education amounts to mortgaging the country’s future.