The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has convened an emergency meeting of all major public tertiary education unions following the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU)’s decision to embark on a two-week warning strike over the Federal Government’s failure to honor longstanding agreements.
NLC President Joe Ajaero said the meeting aims to coordinate a joint response and ensure the government urgently addresses union grievances. The session is scheduled for Monday, October 20, 2025, at the NLC Headquarters in Abuja.
Representatives from universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, and research institutes are expected, including the Non-Academic Staff Union, Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, and National Association of Academic Technologists.
The development highlights the chronic instability in Nigeria’s higher education system, which has endured repeated shutdowns over funding shortfalls and wage arrears. Successive governments have pledged reforms but struggled to balance rising debt, fiscal constraints, and public-sector wage demands.
ASUU National President Professor Chris Piwuna announced the strike at the University of Abuja on Sunday, following the expiry of a 14-day ultimatum issued on September 28. The union cited unresolved issues, including staff welfare, infrastructure, salary arrears, and the implementation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement.
“The struggle for the survival of public education is a fight for the soul of our nation, and we can no longer afford to have our unions stand alone,” the NLC said in its invitation.
Recent negotiations failed to avert industrial action. Education Minister Tunji Alausa stated that talks had reached a final phase, with the government releasing N50bn for earned academic allowances and allocating N150bn in the 2025 budget for a needs assessment. ASUU rejected these measures as insufficient.
The union demands full implementation of the 2009 agreement, payment of three-and-a-half months of withheld salaries, sustainable university funding, protection against victimisation, settlement of promotion and salary arrears, and release of withheld cooperative and union contributions.
The NLC reiterated its solidarity with ASUU and other tertiary education unions, calling for robust participation from all union leaders and urging the government to respect collective agreements and workers’ rights.
The emergency meeting is expected to chart the next steps for industrial action and explore strategies to safeguard university staff welfare and ensure the continuity of public tertiary education in Nigeria.
