By Winnie Onu, Makurdi
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Nsukka Zone, has raised alarm over what it described as government’s consistent breach of agreements, warning that the union may soon resume industrial action if urgent steps are not taken.
The zone, which comprises Benue State University (BSU), Enugu State University of Technology (ESUT), Federal University of Agriculture Makurdi (FUAM), Federal University Lokoja (FUL), Federal University Wukari (FUW), Federal University of Health Sciences Otukpo (FUHSO), Kogi State University Anyigba (KSU), and the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), said the government has continued to renege on several promises made to the union.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, the Zonal Coordinator, Dr. Christian Chukwuma Opata, said the government’s failure to implement agreements dating back to 2009 and the latest report submitted by the Yayale Ahmed-led renegotiation committee in February 2025 is provoking fresh agitations.
According to Opata, key issues include the failure to renegotiate and implement the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement, erosion of university autonomy, non-payment of withheld salaries and promotion arrears, refusal to release revitalization funds for universities, non-payment of the 25 to 35 percent wage increase, and the controversial Tertiary Institutions Staff Support Fund (TISSF).
“The antics of summoning the union to meetings only to abandon resolutions are nauseating and unacceptable. If the government is deliberately testing our will, it is time to respond,” Opata stated.
He said the union had refrained from strikes in the last two years not because its demands were addressed, but to demonstrate to Nigerians and the international community that ASUU is not a strike-driven body.
Opata urged Nigerians and the global community to prevail on the government to act before the situation degenerates into another nationwide crisis.
“The continual pauperization of Nigerian academics is unacceptable. Our struggle continues until government improves the welfare of academics and restores the educational system to global standards,” he added.
