The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called for an emergency meeting of all major unions in the public tertiary education sector in response to the Academic Staff Union of Universities’ (ASUU) decision to embark on a two-week warning strike.
Purpose & Participants
In a statement, NLC President Joe Ajaero said the meeting aims to coordinate a unified response and push the Federal Government to urgently address the unions’ demands.
The meeting is scheduled to take place on Monday, October 20, 2025, at the NLC Headquarters in Abuja.
Invited unions include:
ASUU
NASU (Non-Academic Staff Union)
SSANU (Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities)
ASUP (Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics)
ASUCA (Academic Staff Union of Colleges of Agriculture)
COEASU (Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union)
NAAT (National Association of Academic Technologists)
ASURI (Academic Staff Union of Research Institutions)
SSANIP (Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics)
Grievances & Demands
ASUU initiated the strike after a 14-day ultimatum to the government expired (issued September 28), citing unresolved issues such as:
Non-implementation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement
Unpaid salary and allowance arrears
Poor funding of universities
Withholding of promotions, deductions, and union remittances
Government’s Response
The government, through the Ministry of Education, claims to have already released ₦50 billion towards lecturers’ Earned Academic Allowances and allocated ₦150 billion in the 2025 budget for a needs assessment fund to be released in instalments.
However, ASUU rejected the measures as inadequate and insufficient to resolve the structural issues.
In response to the strike, the government directed vice chancellors to enforce a “no work, no pay” policy, mandating roll calls of academic staff and withholding pay from lecturers participating in the strike.
NLC’s Position & Warning
NLC has publicly declared full solidarity with ASUU and other tertiary education unions, rejecting the “no work, no pay” policy as a tool of intimidation.
The labour congress has warned that if the Federal Government remains unresponsive after the two-week warning strike, it may mobilize a broader response involving other sectors.
Joe Ajaero has insisted the struggle of ASUU is not just that of lecturers, but of the entire working class and the future of public education.