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Monday, October 13, 2025

‘No Reason for Strike’: FG Insists ASUU’s Conditions Has Been Fulfilled

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ABUJA, Nigeria — Minister of State for Education, Tunji Alausa, has said that the federal government has met all the demands of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), urging the union to end its two-week warning strike, which began on Monday, October 13, 2025.

Speaking on Channels Television, Alausa described the strike as unnecessary and insisted that the government had fulfilled every commitment previously agreed upon with the university lecturers.

“I do not see reasons why they have gone on this strike,” Alausa said.

“I can tell you today that all demands of ASUU have been met.”

The minister said the government had released significant funds to address key financial obligations to the universities.

“For the arrears of their earned academic allowance, we have paid N50 billion,” he explained.

“We have addressed the issue of postgraduate supervision allowances, which are to be paid by the institutions, and I have been told that they are being paid.”

According to him, N50 billion has also been released out of the N150 billion allocated for the NEEDS Assessment fund in the 2025 budget, with the remainder to be disbursed in tranches.

Alausa added that the government had agreed to settle outstanding promotion arrears through the 2026 budget and that the 25/35 per cent wage award, which is yet to be paid to public servants, would also be captured in the next fiscal year.

On the issue of the union’s welfare and conditions of service, the minister said a counterproposal was presented to ASUU on Friday, October 10, 2025.

However, the union had not responded before embarking on strike.

He attributed delays in negotiations to the temporary absence of the negotiation committee chairman, former House of Representatives Speaker Ali Ahmed, who was away on pilgrimage and personal engagements.

“They gave us three weeks and I told him (referring to ASUU president) that Ali Ahmed, who agreed to chair this negotiation committee, had requested that he was going for Hajj,” Alausa said.

“Ali was on lesser Hajj for two and a half weeks and had some family issues to deal with in Egypt.”

Alausa also clarified that the government would not pay the remaining three months’ salary arrears from the eight-month ASUU strike in 2022.

“When they went on strike in 2022, President Tinubu, who was then an aspirant, asked the then speaker of the house of representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, to meet with the union,” he said.

“They met and it was decided that 50 per cent of the eight-month strike would be paid. Immediately Tinubu took over, he paid because that was what he promised.”

The minister said all issues concerning third-party deductions and remittances had been resolved and decentralised to the university level.

He assured parents and students that the government was committed to keeping universities open.

“Let me assure the parents of the students that we are doing everything humanly possible to keep your children in school,” Alausa said.

“In the last two and a half years, there has been no strike, and this is due to our active and proactive engagement with the union.”

ASUU’s ongoing strike has disrupted academic activities across several universities, with examinations suspended or postponed.

The union maintains that its action is in response to the government’s failure to fully implement past agreements, including salary arrears, welfare packages, and the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN–ASUU Agreement.

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