By Umar Muhammed, Lafia
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Federal University of Lafia (FULafia) chapter, has fully complied with the directive of its national leadership to embark on a two-week warning strike aimed at pressing home long-standing demands from the Federal Government.
Addressing journalists shortly after a congress meeting held at the institution’s multipurpose lecture hall on Monday, FULafia ASUU Chairperson, Comrade Sunday Orinya, said the branch had no option but to obey the national directive.
“We gathered our members this morning to brief them on the two-week warning strike declared by our national body,” Orinya stated. “FULafia ASUU has fully complied with the directive. This action has become necessary after several unfulfilled promises from the government.”
He recalled that ASUU had been on the verge of declaring a strike since last year but shelved the action in deference to a negotiation committee set up by the government.
“The committee completed its work in early December 2024 and was expected to present its report to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Since then, nothing has been heard about it. No action, no communication. We waited for months, and even after granting the government a three-week grace period it requested, there was still no progress,” he lamented.
Orinya expressed frustration over the government’s continued neglect of key issues affecting the welfare of lecturers and the state of public universities.
“Our demands are not new. We are talking about unpaid earned academic allowances, withheld salaries for three and a half months, non-remittance of third-party deductions, unpaid promotion arrears, and the stalled revitalization fund,” he said.
“Even the renegotiation of our salary structure, which was agreed upon last December, has been completely ignored. The Minister keeps saying there’s a ‘comprehensive package’ coming — but when? How can there be a complete package when you can’t even pay salaries?”
The ASUU leader accused the government of paying lip service to education and failing to appreciate the deteriorating conditions in public universities.
“Take a walk around any of our campuses; the decay is visible. Yet, this is where the future leaders of Nigeria are being trained. The government doesn’t seem to care — only empty assurances and endless committees,” Orinya added.
The two-week warning strike, he said, is a signal of ASUU’s growing impatience with the government’s inaction and a precursor to a possible nationwide shutdown if the issues remain unresolved.