By Ayomide Otitoju
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Tuesday staged protests across the country to draw attention to what it described as the Federal Government’s persistent neglect of its long-standing demands.
At the University of Jos, lecturers demonstrated before addressing journalists, where they rejected the recently introduced Tertiary Institution Staff Support Fund loan scheme. Branch chairperson, Joseph Molwus, described the initiative as a “poison chalice” that would plunge lecturers into deeper hardship rather than resolve their economic challenges.
“Lecturers do not need loans but the payment of legitimate entitlements the government has failed to honour,” Molwus said, questioning why government was urging academics to borrow for healthcare, school fees, and basic needs while owing withheld salaries, allowances, and arrears.
Similar protests took place at the University of Lagos, the University of Benin, the Federal University Gusau, and the Federal University Dutse. Placard-bearing lecturers demanded the payment of arrears, improved welfare, revitalisation funds, and the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN-ASUU agreement.
In Zamfara State, Federal University Gusau branch chairman, Abdulrahman Adamu, accused the government of abandoning Nigerian universities, lamenting that funding has been left to TETFUND while staff endure hardship. He disclosed that government still owes ASUU three and a half months’ salaries from the 2020 strike, along with unpaid promotion arrears and wage award arrears spanning 25 to 35 months.
At the Federal University Dutse, branch chairman Isma’il Ahmad decried the non-payment of three months’ arrears and said lecturers’ current salaries are insufficient to sustain their livelihoods.
Nationwide, ASUU insisted that government must release funds to settle outstanding obligations, including unpaid salaries, earned allowances, promotion arrears, wage awards, revitalisation funds, and unremitted third-party deductions.
The union also faulted government’s refusal to conclude the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement, accusing it of abandoning collective bargaining despite years of engagement and committee reports. ASUU warned that industrial harmony in universities—maintained for more than two years—is under serious threat.
The lecturers reminded President Bola Tinubu of his 2022 campaign pledge that university strikes would not occur under his administration, expressing disappointment that major issues remain unresolved two years into his tenure.
They urged Tinubu to personally intervene by engaging ASUU leadership to avert another prolonged shutdown of academic activities. While reaffirming commitment to dialogue, the union warned that its patience was running out and that universities risk sliding back into crisis unless urgent action is taken.
