The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has urged the Federal Government to prioritise increased funding for public universities, saying proper investment in education remains the only sustainable solution to end recurring strikes and improve Nigeria’s global university rankings.
ASUU President, Chris Piwuna, made the appeal on Friday while appearing before the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund at the National Assembly. He warned that without consistent and adequate funding, the challenges plaguing higher education in Nigeria would persist.
Piwuna explained that the union’s ongoing two-week warning strike stemmed from unresolved issues dating as far back as 2011.
“We engaged the Federal Government for eight years without tangible results. The Yayale Ahmed Committee report, submitted in December 2024, was ignored until this industrial action began,” he said.
According to him, ASUU’s major demands — including sustainable funding, improved conditions of service, revitalisation of public universities, and academic autonomy — remain unresolved.
He challenged the Senate committee to compel the Federal Government to provide adequate funding, stating, “Try us. Push government to fund universities adequately and you’ll see the end of strikes and the improvement of our universities in global rankings.”
Piwuna disclosed that although ₦150 billion was approved for universities, only ₦50 billion had so far been released, and even that amount was still held up at the Ministry of Education. He alleged that the minister planned to share the funds among universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education despite separate allocations for each institution.
He cautioned that the ₦150 billion approved specifically for universities must not be diverted from its intended purpose.
Meanwhile, ASUU expressed concern over what it described as attempts by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to encroach on part of the 10,000 hectares of land belonging to the University of Abuja.
The union said, “We are worried because the University of Abuja is located in the FCT. Anyone serious about higher education should be focused on developing it. If the minister wants land, he should look elsewhere.”
ASUU appealed to the Senate to intervene and prevail on the minister to leave the university’s land untouched.
The union began a two-week warning strike on October 13, citing unresolved issues surrounding lecturers’ working conditions, the 2009 FGN-ASUU agreement, withheld salaries, and sustainable university funding.
The Federal Government, however, insisted that it had addressed all of ASUU’s demands and remained open to continued dialogue, while maintaining its no-work, no-pay policy for striking lecturers.