Strike: ASUU Refutes Federal Government’s Claim Of ₦50bn Payment

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has denied receiving the ₦50 billion revitalisation fund the Federal Government recently claimed to have disbursed, stressing that none of its key demands have been met ahead of its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting scheduled for November 8 and 9, 2025.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the union’s spokesperson, Prof. Jurbe Molwus, said ASUU suspended its two-week warning strike in good faith, based on assurances from senior government officials that concrete actions would follow.

“As ASUU prepares for its NEC meeting on November 8 and 9, we expected that some of the outstanding entitlements — including 3.5 months of withheld salaries, 25/35% wage award arrears, promotion arrears, and unpaid salaries — would have been settled by now. Unfortunately, what we keep seeing are press statements from the Minister of Education instead of actual payments. What we need are credit alerts, not empty promises,” Molwus said.

He expressed concern that the ₦50 billion revitalisation fund announced by the government had not reached universities. “It’s unfortunate that the ₦50 billion revitalisation fund reportedly released weeks ago has yet to get to the universities. We wonder why the Minister of Education is holding onto it,” he said.

Molwus also dismissed claims by Education Minister Dr. Tunji Alausa that ₦2.3 billion had been released to clear salary and promotion arrears. “University workers have not received any such payments. The minister’s statement about clearing backlogs appears to be a fiction. He also spoke about improving academic staff welfare — we ask, how exactly?”

He argued that the ₦2.3 billion mentioned was grossly inadequate. “That amount can barely cover the arrears of three major universities. It’s embarrassing, to say the least. The minister must clarify what portion of entitlements the ₦2.3 billion is meant to cover and for whom,” he added.

ASUU urged Nigerians to hold the Federal Government accountable, warning that it may resume its suspended strike if its demands remain unmet by November 21, 2025 — the end of its four-week ultimatum.

“We call on the media, students, parents, and the general public to prevail on the government to act responsibly so that ASUU isn’t blamed if we resume our strike in two weeks. For clarity, the strike was only suspended out of goodwill. Our members are losing patience while waiting for their rightful payments,” the statement read.

ASUU had declared a two-week “total and comprehensive” strike on October 12 after giving the government a 14-day ultimatum on September 28. The union cited the government’s failure to address issues of staff welfare, infrastructure funding, implementation of the 2009 ASUU-FG agreement, and unpaid salaries.

The Federal Government condemned the strike and enforced a “No Work, No Pay” directive, ordering universities to conduct roll calls and headcounts of staff on duty.

In response, the Senate intervened, pledging to reopen talks among ASUU, the Ministry of Education, and the National Universities Commission. The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund, Senator Aliyu Dandutse, also said the committee would meet with FCT Minister Nyesom Wike to resolve the lingering University of Abuja land dispute.