The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has announced a two-week nationwide warning strike, beginning at midnight on Monday, October 13, 2025, following the expiration of its 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government.
In a circular issued by ASUU’s National Executive Council (NEC) and signed by its President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, the union directed all its branches across the country to immediately withdraw their services starting from 12:01 a.m. on Monday.
The statement read in part:
“There is nothing on ground to prevent the implementation of ASUU-NEC’s resolution to embark on a two-week warning strike at the expiration of the 14-day notice given on September 28, 2025. Consequently, all ASUU branches are hereby directed to commence the strike from midnight on Monday, October 13, 2025. The warning strike shall be total and comprehensive.”
According to the union, the decision followed a referendum conducted across its branches and deliberations at an emergency NEC meeting held on September 29, 2025.
ASUU accused the Bola Tinubu-led administration of neglecting key agreements reached in previous negotiations, including the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement, revitalization funding for public universities, payment of earned academic allowances, release of withheld salaries, and review of lecturers’ welfare packages.
Despite prior notifications to the Ministers of Labour and Education, as well as the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the union said the government had shown “no meaningful commitment” to resolving these long-standing issues.
Describing the negotiation process as “tortuous and unnecessarily prolonged” for over eight years, ASUU warned that the strike was intended to compel the government to take concrete action on its unmet demands and address the worsening brain drain — the “Japa syndrome” — that continues to drain Nigerian universities of qualified academics.
The union reaffirmed that the strike is a warning action but hinted at the possibility of a full-scale industrial action should the government continue to ignore its demands.
