The Ibadan Zone of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Friday warned of a full-blown strike due to the discouraging manner in which the Federal Government has been handling the industrial dispute declared by the Union of Intellectuals.
The union, through its Zonal Coordinator, Professor Biodun Olaniran, while addressing the press at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, stated that government functionaries were feeding the public with false news while frustrating efforts to speedily conclude the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement.
ASUU stated that the real demand of the Union is “the re-negotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement being currently handled by the Alhaji Yayale Ahmed led Committee that will produce a new salary structure to replace the Consolidated University Salary Scale (CONUASS) given the galloping inflation in the country since then”.
ASUU declared a two week warning strike on 13th October, 2025; but the strike was suspended five days before its expiration due to perceived genuine interventions from students, their parents, Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), the media, and all other critical stakeholders.
The Union then gave a month window in line with the ultimatum given by the NLC for governments to conclude the re-negotiation of the 2009 FGN/ ASUU Agreement, as well as to resolve all the associated issues.
The Zonal press conference was addressed by the Zonal Coordinator, Professor Biodun Olaniran, who was flanked by other chairmen from the zone.
According to Professor Olaniran, ASUU “had expected that a government focused on national development, technological innovation, and advancement would spare no effort to work within the deadline by giving a marching order to its agents; unfortunately, the Federal Government had been dealing with a Union bereft of the seriousness the issues deserve.
Regrettably, just about eight days to the expiration of the one-month window, nothing significant has been done other than the usual misinformation, disinformation, and propaganda”. While acknowledging “the release of part of the four-year promotion arrears, third-party deductions such as union dues, cooperative and pension deductions being flaunted by the Government, ASUU, however, maintained that “these should not be mis-construed by Nigerians as having resolved the demands of ASUU”.
The Union boss dis- closed that, “The just-concluded National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of ASUU held at Taraba State University, Jalingo on Saturday, 8th and Sunday, 9th November, 2025 clinically x-rayed the state of our engagements with the Federal Government and Visitors to state universities.
The current state of in- security and excruciating economic situation in the country and its negative impacts on the welfare of the members of our ASUU call for great concern by all stakeholders in the educational sector.”
Professor Olaniran stated that “the three and a half months’ salaries of our members in federal universities, held on account of the federal government that provoked the strike of our union in 2022, are still being withheld by the government. “Many State Universities are yet to pay the withheld salaries, promotion arrears, and Earned Academic Allowances (EAA).
For the avoidance of doubt, the Osun State University is yet to release the withheld salaries of the members of the Union from 2018 and 2020, and the arrears of the reduced 2015-2019 EAA.”
