ABUJA, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)-The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called an emergency meeting of all major unions in the country’s public tertiary education sector, following the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) decision to begin a two-week warning strike over the Federal Government’s failure to honour long-standing agreements.
In a statement released on Tuesday, NLC President Joe Ajaero said the meeting was convened to coordinate a joint response and ensure that the government urgently addresses the grievances raised by the affected unions.
The meeting is scheduled for Monday, October 20, 2025, at the NLC Headquarters in Abuja, and will include representatives of unions from universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, and research institutes, such as the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT).
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The current crisis underscores the persistent instability within Nigeria’s higher education system, which has faced repeated shutdowns due to funding shortfalls and unpaid salaries.
While successive governments have promised reforms, they have continued to struggle with fiscal pressures, rising debt, and public-sector wage demands.
Recall that ASUU National President, Professor Chris Piwuna, announced the strike during a press briefing at the University of Abuja on Sunday, following the expiration of a 14-day ultimatum issued to the government on September 28.
The union cited unresolved issues related to staff welfare, infrastructure, salary arrears, and the implementation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement.
“The struggle for the survival of public education is a fight for the soul of our nation, and we can no longer afford to have our unions stand alone,” the NLC said in its invitation.
“It is imperative that your union is represented at this meeting to contribute to a decisive course of action to compel the government to understand that resorting to threats such as ‘No Work, No Pay’ cannot resolve the issues.”
Recent negotiations failed to prevent the strike.
Education Minister Tunji Alausa stated last Wednesday that talks had reached their final stage, noting that the government had released N50bn for earned academic allowances and allocated N150bn in the 2025 budget for a needs assessment, to be disbursed in three instalments.
However, ASUU rejected these measures as inadequate.
The union is demanding full implementation of the 2009 agreement, payment of three-and-a-half months of withheld salaries, sustainable university funding, protection against victimisation, settlement of outstanding promotions and arrears, and release of withheld cooperative and union deductions.
The NLC reaffirmed its solidarity with ASUU and other tertiary unions, urging strong participation from all leaders. It also stressed the principle of reciprocity, stating “No Pay, No Work,” while calling on the government to respect collective bargaining and the rights of workers.
The emergency meeting is expected to determine the next steps for industrial action and outline strategies to protect university staff welfare and ensure the stability and quality of public tertiary education in Nigeria.