Fresh strike looms as ASUU accuses FG of ‘shattered trust’

Nigerians may soon face another blackout in the nation’s universities as the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has threatened a fresh strike, accusing the Federal Government of destroying the trust built since the 2009 agreement.

ASUU President, Prof. Christopher Piwuna, speaking at a press briefing in Jos on Thursday, accused the government of betraying lecturers with broken promises and delay tactics.

According to him, unresolved issues choking the university system include the long-overdue renegotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement, unpaid salary arrears, withheld promotions, poor welfare of retired lecturers, and the long-standing demand for proper funding of public universities.

“The Federal Government has consistently pushed our union to the wall,” Piwuna said. “We may have no option but to embark on strike to force them to listen. These matters are not new, they are promises already made by government but abandoned.”

The statement comes as frustration deepens among lecturers who say the government has turned a deaf ear to their concerns, despite repeated meetings and assurances.

If ASUU makes good its threat, students across the country could again be sent home, throwing the academic calendar into new chaos.

For now, the union says it is mobilising, while Nigerians wait to see if this would be resolved amicably.