Parents decry persistent strike as ASUU warning industrial action enters second week

The ongoing two -week warning strike embarked on by the Academic Staff Union of Universities has entered the second week on Monday.

The persistent strike, which has become a staple of university academic calendar, especially since 2009 agreement, whose breaches by the successive governments is the reason for the current ongoing action.

But for the parents, who pay the bills, bear the financial and emotional brunt of disruptions of the academic calendar as a result of one strike or the other, the current action is a bitter pill to swallow.

“I regretted not enrolling my son in private university”

For Mrs. Janet Oladele, a business woman, one of the regrets she would live with for a long time was her indiscretion to have allowed her son to attend public university. “Honestly, my friend warned me of the implications of allowing my son to go to a public university, but I have always been swayed by the strong argument that we parents attended public universities. Besides, most private universities always borrow lecturers from public universities. Now, I know better. I find it difficult to process why it’s difficult for a government that claims to be committed to quality education to continue to ignore the demands of ASUU.”

“For me, the blame cuts both ways, I just pity the innocent students ”

Toyin Agboola, a medical technologist, insists government alone can not take the whole blame, noting that ASUU should know that it’s not possible for government to take care of all the challenges, adding that education has become an expensive business.
“For me, government and ASUU have to reach the middle ground to solve this challenge. I understand federal government has not been wholly sincere and deploying delay tactics. My daughter now is worried. If I had money initially I would have enrolled her in a private university,” Agboola said.

“What is fuelling the crisis is the insincerity of the federal government”

Edet Okongo Edet, a secondary school teacher, has no kind words for the federal government whom he accused of insincerity and lack of commitment to quality education.
“Well, for a start, I don’t blame the elite in government, who run the so-called government. Their children are not in public universities. They are in the best universities in Europe and the United States. Since 2009, successive governments have been playing games with the destinies of our future leaders. What is wrong with them? If it is something that will benefit them directly the National Assembly would have waded in.”
At issue is the ASUU demand for the conclusion of the renegotiated 2009 FGN-ASUU agreement, release of the withheld three and a half months’ salaries, sustainable funding of public universities, revitalization of public universities and cessation of the victimisation of lecturers in Lagos State University, Kogi State University, now Prince Abubakar Audu University and Federal University of Technology, Owerri.
Others in contention are payment of outstanding 25-35% salary arrears, payment of promotion arrears for over four years and release of withheld third-party deductions (cooperative contributions, union check-off dues).
But government insists it has met virtually all the demands, such as improved allowances, better conditions of service and other reforms. These have been contested by ASUU, which contends that core issues have not been addressed like payment of earned allowances and withheld salaries which have remained unsettled.
Federal government also claimed to have given them N50 billion and more, the government insists will follow. But the lecturers body says the full debt is about N103 billion, noting that the N50 billion released only partially and payment has not reached most members.

New Strike Condition

Government has also emphasized ‘ No work no pay policy,’ but ASUU has roundly rejected this, saying the court ruling wasn’t finalized and the policy remains punitive since government has been deliberately delaying negotiations.
Federal government also says university autonomy/Governing Councils and the issue of internal promotions, staff welfare should be handled by the Governing Councils but ASUU noted that these Councils can not act without necessary fundings and approval makes the claims largely unrealistic.
ASUU also noted that it’s struggle is to protect students welfare, better fundings and fair working conditions for tertiary education in countering government’s claims of protecting students and the academic calendar.
Though the meetings between both parties ended in a deadlock, reports indicated that shortly before the commencement of the warning strike, the education minister made efforts to reach out to the leadership of the union, but his phone calls were rejected.
“The minister made efforts to reach out to the leadership of the union, but they refused to pick up calls. A proposal was made, but they went ahead with the strike”, a source said.
ASUU’s president, Piwuna, earlier confirmed that the proposal by the government was rejected. He noted that the union was working towards presenting its own proposal to the government.
“The Federal Government raised our members’ hopes in resolving the lingering issues before we held the August 2025 NEC meeting at the Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto, by asking for three weeks of grace to sort out things.
In a statement issued by Folasade Boriowo, the spokesperson of the Federal Ministry of Education, she disclosed that the Federal Government has made a comprehensive offer to the union and is still awaiting ASUU’s official response.
It accused ASUU of not being cooperative despite efforts by the government to avert the strike declared by the union.
Meanwhile, the National Association of Nigerian Students has threatened to protest if the government does not address the demands of ASUU.
In a statement it released NAN stated, “The NANS President has since commenced high-level consultations aimed at mediating between ASUU and the government to avert the strike.