ASUU to FG: Adequate Funding Is Key to Ending Varsity Strikes

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has urged the Federal Government to significantly increase funding for public universities, stressing that proper investment in education is the only lasting solution to end recurring strikes and improve Nigeria’s global university rankings.
Appearing before the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund on Friday, ASUU warned that challenges in the higher education sector would persist unless the government commits to consistent and adequate funding.
ASUU President, Chris Piwuna, who represented the union, said the ongoing two-week warning strike was due to long-standing issues that date back to 2011.
“We engaged the Federal Government for eight years without tangible results. The Yayale Ahmed Committee report, submitted in December 2024, was ignored until this industrial action began,” Piwuna said.
He reiterated that the union’s core demands — including sustainable funding, improved welfare for lecturers, revitalisation of public universities, and academic autonomy — remain unresolved.
ASUU also appealed to the Senate to prevail on the government to release the necessary funds.
“Try us. Push government to fund universities adequately and you’ll see the end of strikes and the improvement of our universities in global rankings,” Piwuna told the lawmakers.
On delayed funding, the ASUU president revealed that although the National Assembly approved ₦150 billion for universities, only ₦50 billion had been released so far. He alleged that the remaining funds were still with the Ministry of Education, which plans to share them among universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education — despite separate allocations for those institutions.
He warned that the ₦150 billion earmarked specifically for universities must be used for that purpose.
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It has been reported that ASUU began a two-week warning strike on October 13 over issues such as poor working conditions, the 2009 FGN-ASUU agreement, withheld salaries, and inadequate funding for university revitalisation.
The Federal Government, however, insists it has addressed most of ASUU’s demands and remains open to dialogue, while enforcing the “no work, no pay” policy against striking lecturers.