The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has heightened tension in the country’s education sector by threatening an imminent nationwide strike should the Federal Government continue to ignore its demands.
Speaking at a press conference held at the Federal University Oye Ekiti, Professor Adeola Egbedokun, the Akure Zonal Coordinator of ASUU, accused the government of neglect and betrayal. He explained that despite two years of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, pressing issues raised by lecturers remain unresolved.
The demands include full implementation of the 2009 ASUU–Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) Agreement, revitalisation of universities, improved funding, clearance of 25–35 percent outstanding salary arrears, stalled promotions for more than four years, failure to remit third-party deductions, and victimisation of lecturers in certain universities.
Egbedokun declared:
“The ball is squarely in the government’s court. If it chooses provocation over responsibility, if it continues to play games with the future of our universities, then it alone must bear the consequences of the storm that will follow.”
He added that the patience of lecturers had been stretched to the breaking point, describing the conditions as a bitter irony where lecturers who groom students for the future cannot even afford their own children’s school fees.
The ASUU chief strongly opposed the government’s newly introduced loan policy, describing it as a “dangerous distraction” designed to entrap lecturers in financial bondage while undermining cooperative societies.
Frontpagenews.ng reports that lecturers in the Akure zone have already staged peaceful campus rallies to send a strong signal to the government, signaling readiness for a larger confrontation if necessary.
