The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Tuesday staged nationwide protests, accusing the Federal Government of neglecting its commitments and pushing lecturers into financial hardship.
At the University of Jos, ASUU branch chairman Joseph Molwus dismissed the new Tertiary Institution Staff Support Fund loan scheme, calling it a “poison chalice.” He said, “How can the government ask us to borrow money to pay for healthcare, school fees and basic needs when it is still owing us withheld salaries, allowances, and arrears?”
Similar protests were held at the University of Lagos, University of Benin, Federal University Gusau, and Federal University Dutse. The demands across campuses were consistent: payment of arrears, improved welfare, and the implementation of the long-pending 2009 FG-ASUU agreement.
In Gusau, ASUU chairman Abdulrahman Adamu criticized the government for leaving university funding to TETFUND while staff remain unpaid. He revealed that lecturers are still owed “three and a half months’ salaries from the 2020 strike action, in addition to unpaid promotion arrears and wage award arrears.”
Isma’il Ahmad, chairman of ASUU at Federal University Dutse, also condemned the government’s inaction, stating that lecturers’ salaries are “barely enough to sustain their livelihood.”
The union warned that if urgent steps are not taken, universities could face another prolonged shutdown. ASUU reminded President Bola Tinubu of his 2022 campaign promise that strikes would not happen under his watch, urging him to directly engage with union leaders to “renew the hope” of Nigerian lecturers.
While reaffirming its commitment to dialogue, ASUU stressed that patience is wearing thin and warned that industrial harmony in universities is now at risk.
