The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has declared that 2025 will be a year of long-drawn confrontation with the Federal Government (FG) if visible and concrete efforts are not made to address pending issues and meet the union’s expectations.
This declaration was made by the Chairman of ASUU, Ibadan chapter, Professor Ayo Akinwole, in a statement on Wednesday.
Akinwole criticized the Federal Government’s efforts in 2024 as mere window-dressing and cosmetic, stating that no major difference was made in the university education sector.
He highlighted several unresolved issues, including the non-provision of funding for the revitalization of public universities, non-release of withheld salaries, and non-payment of arrears of Earned Academic Allowance (EAA).
The union also expressed dissatisfaction with the 7% budgetary allocation to education in 2025, which falls far below the 15%-20% benchmark specified by UNESCO and the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) for underdeveloped countries like Nigeria.
Akinwole noted that the poor welfare conditions of public university lecturers are leading to the reluctance of qualified individuals to take up teaching positions, further affecting the quality of education.
ASUU warned that if the Federal Government does not take concrete steps to address these issues, 2025 will likely be marked by another round of industrial crises in the university system. The union called on the Tinubu-led administration to review and sign the Nimi Briggs-led renegotiated draft agreement as a mark of goodwill and hope for Nigeria’s public universities.
The statement concluded with a call for the Federal Government to put machinery in motion to address the long-drawn issues and avoid another year of confrontation with ASUU.
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