The Ibadan Zone of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has raised the alarm over what it described as the Federal Government’s deliberate foot-dragging and piecemeal handling of long-standing issues affecting public universities, warning that another round of industrial action may be inevitable if urgent steps are not taken.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday at the University of Ibadan ASUU Secretariat, the Zonal Coordinator, Professor Biodun Olaniran, said the relative peace in Nigerian universities in recent months was largely due to the union’s patience and expectation that the government would honour its promises. However, he noted that no meaningful progress had been recorded.
“ASUU members are increasingly frustrated with the government’s delay tactics, the so-called ‘keep them talking’ syndrome. Even a goat, when pushed to the wall, will eventually react,” Olaniran warned.
The union listed several outstanding demands, including the renegotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement, sustainable funding and revitalisation of universities, restoration of university autonomy, payment of withheld salaries, arrears of promotions, and mainstreaming of Earned Academic Allowance (EAA).
Olaniran lamented that despite a draft agreement reached in 2021 with the government’s own renegotiation committee, authorities have refused to sign and implement the document. He added that the Alhaji Yayale Ahmed report, submitted in February 2025 to address contentious issues, is also being ignored.
On funding, ASUU faulted the Tinubu administration for allocating just seven per cent of the 2025 national budget to education, far below the UNESCO-recommended 15–26 per cent.
“Our universities are plagued by underfunding, decaying infrastructure, poorly equipped laboratories, and deplorable hostels. None of our public universities rank among the top 1,000 globally,” he said.
The Ibadan Zone also condemned what it described as the victimisation of ASUU members at Lagos State University (LASU), Kogi State University (KSU), and the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), where union leaders face trumped-up charges and illegal withholding of salaries.
On university autonomy, the union decried the unlawful dissolution of governing councils, imposition of political appointees, and the erosion of Senate powers through the National Universities Commission’s centralised curriculum.
ASUU further demanded the release of the three-and-a-half months’ salaries withheld during the 2022 strike, as well as arrears from the 25–35 per cent wage award announced by the government but yet to be implemented.
The union also accused the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) of fraud, citing unremitted third-party deductions and the non-payment of promotion arrears for over four years in many universities.
Concluding, Olaniran urged Nigerians to prevail on the government to act decisively, stressing that lecturers can no longer accept endless delays.
“We are peace-loving, but we will not continue to watch our members’ welfare sacrificed to the government’s delay tactics. Another crisis in the university system can only be prevented if the Federal Government honours its commitments,” he said.
The Ibadan Zone of ASUU comprises the University of Ibadan, University of Ilorin, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Osun State University, Kwara State University, and Emmanuel Alayande University of Education, Oyo.
