The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has called for a comprehensive review of Nigeria’s education system and decried the non-payment of the balance of lecturers’ withheld salaries from the 2022 nationwide strike.

The National President of ASUU, Prof. Chris Piwuna, made the call on Friday during a press conference in Jos, Plateau State.

He was flanked by other officials of the union including Bauchi Zonal Coordinator, Prof. Timothy Namo; branch chairmen of ASUU from the University of Jos and Plateau State University,Profs Jurbe Molwus and Dr Vincent Choji respectively as well as the Legal Committee chairman of the union and other union members on ground .

Addressing journalists, Piwuna read the union’s press text titled: “Nigerian Universities and Nigeria Today :Our Worries ,Our Propositions”

Speaking on the 2022 withheld salaries, Piwuna said: “In words and deeds, the Federal Government appears to have turned its back on paying the outstanding balance of lecturers’ three-and-half months arising from the 2022 nationwide strike action of ASUU.”

He noted that the union “had applauded President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s initial pro-labour disposition for paying the four out of the seven-and-half months’ salaries withheld by the last administration.”

However, he added: “The non-payment of the balance has left a strong bitter taste in the mouths of ASUU members.”

Piwuna further stated: “The repeated union’s arguments that its members made extraordinary sacrifice to cover the last ground during the provoked-strike action and that paying the withheld salaries would further cement industrial harmony on the university campuses appear to have fallen on deaf ears. This is a sad development.”

The ASUU President said NEC “rejected government’s position” and “resolved to use all legitimate means available to the union to make the government reciprocate the goodwill ASUU members have demonstrated.”

He also expressed concern over “continuous delay in the payment of 25/35% wage award and promotion arrears of our members,” and called on “the Federal and affected State Government to urgently pay these entitlements in order to encourage our members and guarantee industrial harmony in our Universities.”

On the December 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement, Piwuna said: “The signing of the December 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement was seen by many as a significant move to arrest restiveness among academic staff of Federal and State universities and chart a new path of growth and stability for the Nigerian University System (NUS).”

But he lamented that “the haphazard implementations of the Agreement by governments at the two levels leave much to be desired; making the resurgence of campus unrest inevitable.”

He cited funding challenges, noting that “Vice-Chancellors of other federally-owned universities are struggling to partially implement the financial component of the Agreement or raise their empty hands in helplessness due to non-funding of their monthly salary bills by the federal government.”

At the state level, he said “only about 10% or less among the governors have openly endorsed the new salary package for academics; several others are playing the ostrich.”

Consequently, Piwuna announced that “NEC resolved to grant some affected state and federal universities permission to embark on varying degrees of industrial action to press home their demands.”

Among the institutions listed are Plateau State University, Bokkos, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Gombe State University, Abia State University, and Kaduna State University.

The ASUU President also condemned the harassment of members in some universities.

“The recent harassment of our members by Vice Chancellors in the following universities, Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), Imo State University (IMSU), and very recently Abia State University (ABSU), will not be tolerated by NEC,” he warned.

“For the avoidance of doubt, NEC will not consider calling off the action in these universities, until the victimisation of our members stops.”

Piwuna further accused the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation of stalling payments.

“The federal ministry of finance has deliberately stalled the payment of our promotion arrears and its foot dragging tactics in the release of our monthly salaries is becoming a trigger for restiveness on our campuses,”he said.

On broader national issues, ASUU called for a rethink of government policies.

“ASUU calls for a comprehensive review of Nigeria’s education system to reflect the country’s peculiar socio-economic, cultural, technological and developmental realities rather than merely replicating models developed for other societies,” Piwuna said.

He added that “greater attention must be given to research, technical education, agriculture, innovation and the development of skills relevant to Nigeria’s needs.”

The union also criticized the TETFund policy on “tenable and non-tenable universities,” describing it as “discriminatory,” and condemned the rising insecurity ahead of the 2027 elections, saying: “The political class are the most significant and dangerous threat to Nigeria’s security. They are the ‘tribe’ that threaten us all.”

Piwuna concluded that “to derive maximum benefits from Nigeria’s public universities, however, the Federal and State governments must take urgent steps to address all outstanding issues of academic staff welfare as well as all matters arising from the FGN-ASUU Agreement of December 2025.” (The PUNCH)

Update news