The Federal Government has reiterated that it has fulfilled all the demands presented by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), maintaining that the union’s ongoing nationwide strike has no valid justification.
Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, made this known on Monday during an appearance on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, where he appealed to lecturers to return to their classrooms.
> “We have addressed every single request by ASUU; there is no need for this strike, and we are pleading with them to go back to school. We need to keep our children in school. If there is any group of people that I have met with the most since I assumed this position, it is ASUU,” Alausa said.
The minister dismissed allegations that the government had been slow or unwilling to meet the union’s demands. He outlined various steps taken by the administration to resolve the lingering issues.
According to him, the government has paid ₦50 billion in arrears of earned academic allowances, which were earlier delayed because ASUU initially rejected the plan to integrate them into regular salaries. However, he explained that the allowances have now been mainstreamed into lecturers’ salaries, ensuring that such arrears would not accumulate in the future.
Alausa further stated that issues surrounding postgraduate supervision allowances had been resolved, noting that institutions had started making the required payments.
Speaking on the needs assessment funds, the minister said the government had inherited the liabilities from an agreement reached nearly 20 years ago but had made significant progress under the current administration.
> “The President approved ₦150 billion for the needs assessment programme in the 2026 budget. Out of this, ₦50 billion has already been released and is currently in the needs assessment account. The President also directed that the funds be released in three tranches of ₦50 billion each,” he said.
He added that ASUU itself is responsible for the delay in disbursing the released funds.
Regarding promotion arrears, Alausa clarified that they would be settled through the 2026 budget appropriations, emphasizing that the underlying causes of the arrears had already been addressed.
Meanwhile, the ASUU leadership, led by National President Professor Chris Piwuna, on Sunday night declared a two-week total and comprehensive warning strike across all public universities in the country.
The union explained that the decision followed the expiration of a 14-day ultimatum issued on September 28, 2025, after what it described as the government’s failure to provide a satisfactory response to its demands.
