{"id":347173,"date":"2025-08-22T03:49:41","date_gmt":"2025-08-22T02:49:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/?p=347173"},"modified":"2025-08-21T20:16:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T19:16:09","slug":"asuu-threatens-fresh-strike-rejects-fgs-loan-scheme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/?p=347173","title":{"rendered":"ASUU Threatens Fresh Strike, Rejects FG\u2019s Loan Scheme"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Academic Staff Union of Universities, (ASUU) has warned that it may be forced to embark on industrial action following what it described as the Federal Government\u2019s persistent failure to honour agreements and address lingering challenges in the nation\u2019s university system.<\/div>\n
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Speaking at a press conference held yesterday at the University of Jos, ASUU President, Prof. Christopher Piwuna, said the union has been \u201cpushed to the wall\u201d after over two years of patience without results.<\/div>\n
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He accused the government of deliberate delay tactics in renegotiating the 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement, addressing outstanding salary arrears, and implementing measures to revitalise universities.<\/div>\n
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\u201cTrust has been destroyed by government. It is, therefore, up to them to regain it to avert any strike,\u201d Piwuna said.<\/div>\n
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Speaking on the 2009 Agreement and Collective Bargaining, the union lamented that despite the submission of the Alhaji Yayale Ahmed Report in February 2025, the government has failed to act on its recommendations.<\/div>\n
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ASUU expressed concern that this undermines the principle of collective bargaining, to which Nigeria is committed as a signatory to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention.<\/div>\n
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The draft agreement, it noted, covers crucial issues such as conditions of service, university autonomy, academic freedom, funding, and the review of laws governing JAMB and NUC.<\/div>\n
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While acknowledging a planned government meeting on August 28, ASUU warned that time was running out.<\/div>\n
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The union strongly rejected the government\u2019s proposed Tertiary Institutions Staff Support Fund (TISSF), which seeks to provide loans to lecturers.<\/div>\n
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Describing it as a \u201cpoison chalice,\u201d ASUU insisted that what its members need is improved wages through the renegotiated agreement, not more debts.<\/div>\n
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\u201cOur members do not lack where to find loans; indeed, they are already deep in debt. This loan will incapacitate cooperative societies and enslave our members. After deductions, nothing would be left for families. How can the government ask us to take loans to pay for our health and our children\u2019s education?\u201d Piwuna queried.<\/div>\n
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The union also criticised the unchecked establishment of universities, accusing successive governments of turning them into tools for political patronage rather than genuine centres of learning.<\/div>\n
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According to the union, Nigeria now has 339 universities\u201472 federal, 108 state, and 159 private\u2014yet many lack basic facilities and staff.<\/div>\n
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ASUU urged the government to extend its moratorium on new public universities to private ones, warning that the current trend will only worsen quality and global rankings.<\/div>\n
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The union decried the plight of retired professors and lecturers under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), noting that many who served the system for decades are left with as little as ?150,000 monthly in a harsh economic environment.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThis situation is cruel and unacceptable. Our retired colleagues are battling chronic illnesses and caring for dependents with meager pensions. Government must reverse this ugly trend,\u201d ASUU declared.<\/div>\n
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ASUU\u2019s National Executive Council (NEC), after its recent meeting at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, resolved to wait for the outcome of the government\u2019s August 28 meeting before taking further action.<\/div>\n
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However, the union announced plans to hold rallies across university campuses next week as a warning signal to the government.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe cannot continue this journey with empty tanks. If the government fails to act, ASUU will have no choice but to embark on action to defend public university education,\u201d Piwuna warned.<\/div>\n
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Reiterating its demand, which includes renegotiation of the 2009 Agreement, revitalisation of universities, sustainable funding, and an end to the victimisation of members, ASUU stressed that the ball is in the government\u2019s court.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe general public should note that ASUU has tried every possible means to resolve these issues amicably. It is the Federal Government that has consistently pushed our union to the edge. If a strike happens, Nigerians should know who to hold responsible,\u201d Piwuna concluded.<\/div>\n
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The Academic Staff Union of Universities, (ASUU) has warned that it may be forced to embark on industrial action following what it described as the Federal Government\u2019s persistent failure to honour agreements and address lingering challenges in the nation\u2019s university system. Speaking at a press conference held yesterday at the University of Jos, ASUU President, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":244397,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-347173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=347173"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347173\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":347188,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347173\/revisions\/347188"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/244397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=347173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=347173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=347173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}