ASUU threatens another strike in Nigerian university

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in one of the Nigerian universities, Kaduna State University (KASU), has issued warning of another strike, citing ongoing grievances with the state government.

This was revealed in a statement signed by Dr. Peter Adamu, Chairman of the KASU ASUU branch, and distributed to journalists on Thursday in Kaduna.

PlatinumPost reports that the union embarked on an indefinite strike on February 18, 2025, over similar concerns, though the action was suspended six days later.

According to Adamu, efforts to resolve the impasse have been hampered by the state government’s repeated failure to engage the union as agreed.

“The Kaduna State Government had cancelled two scheduled meetings with ASUU,” he said, adding that the development has cast doubt on the government’s seriousness about resolving the conflict.

He outlined several unresolved matters, including the non-payment of salaries from May to September 2022, unpaid allowances for the supervision of the Student Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES), earned academic allowances, promotion arrears, and outstanding pension remittances.

Other issues cited include the non-implementation of group life assurance and death benefits, delayed wage awards, consequential salary adjustments, and the lack of financial autonomy.

Adamu warned that the government’s failure to honour previous agreements has brought negotiations to a standstill. “The government had returned to default settings, leaving ASUU with no choice but to consider resuming the strike,” he stated.

He noted that while the union had approached discussions with flexibility, the persistent inaction from the government is damaging mutual trust. “The agreements reached by both parties were flexible, but the government’s lack of commitment is eroding trust,” he said.

Adamu urged the state governor and relevant stakeholders to step in and address the union’s demands to avoid another disruption in academic activities. “The chairman appealed to the governor and the stakeholders to intervene and avert a needless industrial action that could further plunge the university into comatose,” the statement read.

He called for prompt action to meet the lecturers’ demands and restore stability to the university system.