ASUU Stages Nationwide Protests, Rejects FG Loan Scheme

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has launched nationwide demonstrations to express dissatisfaction with what it describes as the Federal Government’s continued neglect of critical issues affecting public universities.

At different campuses across the country on Tuesday, lecturers marched with placards demanding the settlement of outstanding salaries, arrears, and allowances, while outrightly rejecting the newly introduced Tertiary Institution Staff Support Fund loan scheme.

In Jos, ASUU branch chairman Dr. Joseph Molwus told journalists that the loan initiative was not a solution but a burden designed to worsen the economic struggles of lecturers.

“Our members don’t need loans. What we demand is the payment of what is legitimately ours. Asking us to borrow while the government withholds our salaries and allowances is unjust,” he said.

At the University of Lagos, protesting lecturers called for improved welfare, proper funding of universities, and the renegotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FG agreement. 

The scene was similar at the University of Benin and the Federal University Gusau, where union leaders warned that another strike could be inevitable if government inaction persists.

Dr. Abdulrahman Adamu, ASUU chairperson at the Federal University Gusau, lamented that universities were being left to rely solely on TETFUND for development. 

He revealed that the Federal Government still owes academic staff three and a half months’ salaries from the 2020 strike, alongside promotion arrears and over two years of unpaid wage awards.

In Jigawa State, members at the Federal University Dutse joined the protests. The branch chairman, Dr. Isma’il Ahmad, accused the government of failing to honour its commitments under the 2009 agreement, insisting that the current salary structure cannot sustain the average lecturer.

Nationwide, ASUU reiterated that instead of offering loans, the Federal Government should release funds to offset outstanding obligations such as withheld salaries, earned allowances, promotion arrears, revitalisation funds, and unremitted third-party deductions.

The union also condemned the government’s refusal to conclude the renegotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FG agreement, despite years of dialogue and committee reports. 

According to ASUU leaders, this neglect has left lecturers in despair and now threatens the fragile industrial peace in Nigerian universities.

“We have waited for too long. If the government continues to ignore these issues, universities may once again be forced into prolonged closure,” one protesting lecturer warned.

ASUU further reminded President Bola Tinubu of his campaign promise that strikes would not happen under his administration. 

The union urged him to personally step in and engage directly with ASUU leaders, noting that lecturers’ patience is wearing thin.

While emphasising its commitment to dialogue, the union stressed that only urgent government action can avert another major shutdown of Nigeria’s university system.