ASUU Raises Alarm Over Government's 'Deliberate' Education Neglect
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Nsukka Zone, has leveled serious allegations against President Bola Tinubu's administration, accusing the government of deliberately jeopardizing Nigeria's future through its refusal to conclude the long-delayed renegotiation of the 2009 ASUU-Federal Government Agreement.
Speaking during a press conference held at Benue State University, Makurdi, on November 15, 2025, the Zonal Coordinator, Comrade Christian Opata, declared that the government's "insincerity and purposeful delays" in addressing the agreement pose a grave threat to national development and the country's educational system.
Government Accused of Systematic Failure
Comrade Opata, representing eight universities across the Nsukka Zone, expressed deep frustration with the Federal Government's approach to the ongoing negotiations. "The Federal Government is deliberately killing the future of our nation through its lip service to education", he stated emphatically.
The universities represented in the zone include:
- University of Nigeria, Nsukka
- Benue State University
- Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi
- Enugu State University of Science and Technology
- Kogi State University
- Federal University, Lokoja
- Federal University, Wukari
- Federal University of Health Sciences, Otukpo
Opata revealed that ASUU has engaged in negotiations and signed agreements with the government for over a decade, yet successive administrations have frustrated implementation through selective compliance and calculated delays.
Lecturers Reject Proposed Salary Structure
In a significant development, the union disclosed that its members unanimously rejected the government's proposed salary structure during their recent National Executive Council meeting in Taraba State. The offer was described as "a mere drop in the ocean" and reportedly even lower than what was rejected in 2022.
The zonal coordinator highlighted the severe economic challenges facing academic staff, noting that "our take-home can no longer take us home." He provided a stark illustration: a professor's monthly salary cannot cover a return flight from Lagos to Abuja, while senior lecturers struggle to fund academic publications essential for their career progression.
Political Will, Not Funds, Identified as Core Issue
ASUU challenged the government's narrative of financial constraints, citing recent Federation Account Allocation Committee revenue allocations that show significant increases in federal and state revenues between 2022 and 2024.
"It is not economic hardship but lack of political will that has stalled the renegotiation process," Opata asserted, dismissing claims of dwindling funds as inconsistent with available financial data.
The union warned that the continued neglect of tertiary education amounts to deliberate destruction of Nigeria's future and emphasized that only a radical review of lecturers' welfare and proper funding of universities can stem the growing wave of brain drain affecting the academic sector.
Impending Crisis and Call to Action
ASUU issued a clear ultimatum to the Federal Government, warning that if the renegotiation process is not concluded within the one-month window already provided, the university system risks being plunged into another nationwide crisis.
The union appealed to traditional rulers, labor groups, students, and civil society organizations to mount pressure on the government to honor its commitments and prioritize public education. They emphasized that their recent suspension of a warning strike was a gesture of goodwill following appeals from Nigerians, but the government has yet to demonstrate seriousness since dialogue resumed.
The Nsukka Zone reiterated its readiness to continue pushing for a sustainable solution, insisting that the fate of Nigeria's education system must not be left to political convenience and that the government's current approach threatens to compromise the nation's future development and global competitiveness.
