The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has accused the Federal Government (FG) of neglecting the nation’s tertiary education sector, warning that continued inaction could trigger another industrial dispute.
Responding to recent remarks by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, who vowed that strikes by lecturers and other academic unions would no longer occur, ASUU said the sentiment was welcome but meaningless without tangible steps to address unresolved issues.
In a statement issued on Saturday, ASUU president, Professor Christopher Piwuna, said lecturers across the country were struggling to survive, with many working in poorly equipped libraries and laboratories lacking up-to-date journals, books, chemicals and reagents.
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“Our members feel forgotten, shamed and demoralised by past and present governments. Yet elite Nigerians are quick to blame universities for producing unemployable graduates while ignoring the systemic neglect that stifles innovative research,” he stated.
The union criticised the government for failing to honour the 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement, despite receiving a revised draft from the Alhaji Yayale Ahmed Committee in December 2024.
It said past disputes had been rooted in this failure, accusing authorities of offering “platitudes and token gestures” instead of fulfilling agreed commitments on staff welfare, funding, autonomy and academic freedom.
ASUU also denounced the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), describing it as riddled with corruption and responsible for delays in promotions and salary payments.
The union alleged that salaries were routinely withheld after strikes and that approved promotions often lacked financial backing for years.
On university governance, ASUU raised concerns over alleged political interference in the appointment of vice-chancellors, citing the case of the Acting Vice-Chancellor of Alvan Ikoku University of Education, whose promotion process it claimed was irregular.
The union called on patriotic Nigerians to press the Federal and State Governments to urgently resolve lingering labour disputes, insisting that only a properly negotiated collective bargaining agreement could address staff welfare and create an environment conducive to quality research and teaching.
