ASUU Threatens Strike Over University Council

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has issued a two-week ultimatum to the federal government, demanding the immediate establishment of university governing councils across Nigeria. This ultimatum comes in the wake of a press briefing held at the University of Abuja on May 14, 2024, where the president of the union, Emmanuel Osodeke, expressed the collective dissatisfaction of ASUU members over the absence of governing councils in all federal universities.

The union’s primary contention is that the disbandment of the governing councils by President Bola Tinubu on June 22, 2023, did not follow due process. Moreover, the failure to appoint new councils since then has been a significant source of concern for ASUU. The absence of these councils has left a vacuum in the policy, finance, and property management of the institutions, a situation that ASUU finds unacceptable.

In addition to the council issue, the union also expressed dissatisfaction with the recent offer by the federal government of a 35 percent salary increase for professors and a 25 percent raise for other lecturers within the university system. The union president described this as a wage award that can be withdrawn by the government at any time.