Nigerian university lecturers, under the aegis of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), have issued a 21-day ultimatum to the Federal Government, signaling the possibility of a nationwide strike.

This notice emerged as a key resolution from the national executive council meeting of the union, held over the weekend at the University of Ibadan.

While the union has not yet made an official announcement, a senior ASUU member disclosed to our correspondent in Abuja that the lecturers have agreed to serve the Federal Government with a 21-day notice before embarking on the planned industrial action.

In July this year, ASUU threatened to commence an indefinite strike due to the Federal Government’s failure to implement the renegotiated 2009 agreement.

During a press briefing in July at Damaturu, the capital of Yobe State, the Chairman of the ASUU Gashua branch, Melemi Abatcha, highlighted the lack of funding for the revitalisation of Nigerian public universities and the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement as the primary issues affecting the sector.

“Funding for the revitalisation of Nigerian public universities, which includes improving infrastructure, creating conducive teaching and learning environments, providing student and staff accommodation, and equipping laboratories and libraries, remains grossly inadequate. As a result, the Academic Staff of Nigerian Universities have been stuck on the same salary structure since 2009,” Abatcha stated.

He further noted, “Despite the directive from the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to remove ASUU from the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) platform in December 2023, members of ASUU are still being paid through the problematic IPPIS system.”

Other critical issues raised by the union include university autonomy, the proliferation of public universities, the backlog of unpaid academic allowances amounting to N50 billion, and the withheld three-and-a-half months’ salaries of ASUU members nationwide.

Before this latest threat, the Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, had on 26 June invited the union for a meeting to discuss the ongoing issues plaguing the universities. However, ASUU members contend that no significant progress has been made in addressing their demands since that meeting.