The Federal Government on Monday said it has met all the demands of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), insisting there is no justification for the union’s ongoing strike.
Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, made the remark during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, where he appealed to ASUU to return to the classrooms.
“We have addressed every single request by ASUU; there is no reason for this strike. We are pleading with them to resume academic activities because we must keep our children in school,” Alausa said.
He dismissed suggestions that the government had been slow or reluctant to engage with the union, stressing that the administration had fulfilled its financial and policy commitments.
According to the minister, the Federal Government has paid ₦50 billion in arrears of Earned Academic Allowances (EAA), which President Bola Tinubu approved months ago. He added that the allowances have now been incorporated into lecturers’ salaries to prevent future arrears.
“We have also addressed the issue of postgraduate supervision allowances, which are being handled by the universities, and we’ve confirmed that payments have begun. Regarding the needs assessment funds — a negotiation that dates back almost 20 years — this government has met those obligations,” he explained.
Alausa noted that President Tinubu remains committed to maintaining a fair and constructive relationship with all labour unions.
He further revealed that ₦150 billion has been allocated for tertiary education in the 2026 budget under the needs assessment programme, with ₦50 billion already released. “The President approved the payment in three instalments, and the first tranche is already in the needs assessment account. However, ASUU is responsible for coordinating disbursement,” he said.
The minister also stated that promotion arrears would be settled under the 2026 budget, adding that the root causes of the delays had already been resolved.
Despite the government’s position, ASUU commenced a two-week total and comprehensive strike across all public universities in Nigeria.
The Union’s National President, Professor Chris Piwuna, announced the strike on Sunday during a press briefing at the University of Abuja, saying there had been no significant progress in talks with the government.
According to Piwuna, the 14-day notice of industrial action, issued on 28 September 2025, expired without any meaningful response from the authorities. Consequently, all ASUU branches were directed to begin a full withdrawal of services from midnight on Monday, 13 October 2025.
The government had earlier appealed to the union to suspend the planned strike, assuring that it remained committed to resolving all outstanding issues.