The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Abuja Zone, has accused the Federal Government of neglecting critical issues affecting the Nigerian university system, warning that persistent underfunding and failure to honour agreements could plunge the sector into another round of crisis.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday at the University of Abuja, the Zonal Coordinator, Prof. Al-Amin Abdullahi, said that despite nearly two years of relative peace in Nigerian universities under the Tinubu administration, the government has failed to demonstrate seriousness in addressing long-standing concerns.
“The draft renegotiated agreement was concluded in December 2024 and submitted to government in February 2025, yet no step has been taken to sign it. This document is crucial to address the deteriorating conditions in our universities,” Abdullahi stated.
ASUU identified unresolved issues to include the implementation of a new condition of service for academics, revitalisation of public universities, protection of university autonomy, and a review of legal frameworks guiding institutions such as the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
The union lamented decades of deliberate underfunding, which it said had left universities with dilapidated infrastructure, overcrowded classrooms, poorly equipped laboratories, and inhabitable hostels. It urged federal and state governments to adhere to UNESCO’s recommendation on increased budgetary allocation to education.
On national issues, ASUU expressed concern over worsening insecurity, high inflation, rising exchange rates, and growing poverty, stressing that economic hardship had eroded the purchasing power of academics and rendered the renegotiated salary scale meaningless.
Among its demands, ASUU called for the immediate release of its withheld three and a half months’ salaries, payment of promotion arrears, settlement of outstanding deductions to unions and cooperatives, one-year arrears of the 25/35% salary award, and the adoption of UTAS (TITAS) as the payment platform for universities.
Prof. Abdullahi emphasized that the crisis in Nigeria’s universities was not merely an ASUU problem but a national challenge, warning that continued neglect of education amounted to mortgaging the country’s future.
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