ASUU warns of fresh crisis, says FG must honour agreements, prioritise education

Gbolahan Salman Sokoto

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Sokoto Zone, on Thursday warned that Nigeria’s public universities may plunge into another round of industrial crisis unless the Federal Government demonstrates genuine commitment to resolving lingering issues affecting the tertiary education sector.

Addressing journalists at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Press Centre in Sokoto, the Zonal Coordinator, Prof. Abubakar Sabo, said the government has shown “inconsistent and disappointing behaviour” in ongoing negotiations, despite the union’s decision to suspend its warning strike in October to allow for peaceful engagement.

Prof. Sabo recalled that the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) suspended the strike to give room for a one-month renegotiation window, after receiving widespread solidarity from students, parents, labour unions and other stakeholders.

However, he said the government has failed to use the opportunity to address critical issues, especially those relating to salary structure, university autonomy, and the rot in state-owned institutions.

According to him, while some non-monetary aspects of the renegotiation have recorded minimal progress, the government’s proposed salary increase for lecturers remains “grossly inadequate and incapable of reversing the massive brain drain crippling Nigerian universities.”

He added that recent partial payment of promotion arrears and the release of third-party deductions—some pending since 2017—should not be presented by the government as achievements, but merely confidence-building measures.

ASUU also raised concerns over what it described as the deteriorating condition of state universities within the Sokoto Zone. The union listed issues such as absence of governing councils at Shehu Shagari University of Education, unpaid allowances and deductions at Sokoto State University, stalling of promotions and Earned Academic Allowances at institutions like AFUSTA, and the lack of enabling laws for Federal Universities in Birnin Kebbi and Gusau despite their establishment more than a decade ago.

“For FUAZ, it remains the only university in the country established and made operational without a take-off grant,” Prof. Sabo said.

The union dismissed government claims of financial constraints, stressing that revenue allocations to both the federal and state governments have significantly increased in recent years. It cited FAAC figures showing that federal allocation rose from ₦3.42 trillion in 2022 to ₦4.65 trillion in 2024, while state s’ allocations grew from ₦3.92 trillion to ₦5.81 trillion within the same period.