ASUU Disputes FG’s ₦50bn Payment Claim
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) announced that it has not yet received the N50 billion revitalization fund that the Federal Government recently claimed to have distributed. The union stressed that none of its demands have been met before the National Executive Council meeting set for November 8 and 9, 2025.
ASUU made this statement on Wednesday, signed by Prof. Jurbe Molwus. He reminded everyone that the union had suspended its two-week warning strike in good faith after receiving promises from senior government officials that solid proposals would be put forward.
“As ASUU prepares for its National Executive Council meeting on November 8 and 9, 2025, we had hoped that some of the outstanding payments, like the withheld salaries for 3.5 months, 25/35% wage award arrears, promotion arrears, and unpaid salaries for some members, would have been paid to university staff by now. Instead, we only see press releases from the Honourable Minister of Education. What we really need are actual payment notifications, not misleading statements.”
He noted that the Federal Government’s recent claim of a N50 billion distribution has not led to any payments to universities.
“It is disappointing to see that the N50 billion revitalization fund, which the Federal Government said was released weeks ago, has not yet reached the universities. We don’t understand why the Minister of Education is withholding it.”
Molwus also criticized comments from the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, who claimed that N2.3 billion had been set aside to cover salary and promotion arrears.
“Additionally, the Honourable Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Maruf Alausa, was recently quoted as saying, ‘The Federal Government has released N2.3 billion to clear salary and promotion arrears in all federal universities.’
“However, university staff have not received any alerts about this so far. Thus, the minister’s claim about resolving backlogs might just be a product of his imagination. He also mentioned improving the welfare of academic staff, and we are left questioning how that is so.”
Molwus argued that the amount mentioned by the minister is insufficient.
“The key question for the minister is: can N2.3 billion really cover the accumulated salary and promotion arrears for all federal university staff? Absolutely not. In fact, N2.3 billion is just a small amount. It likely won’t be enough to cover the needs of three major universities in Nigeria. The sum is grossly inadequate and nearly insulting, if not outright embarrassing.
“The Honourable Minister needs to clarify what percentage of the university workers’ owed payments the N2.3 billion will cover and for whom it is intended. We genuinely do not understand the minister’s reasoning.”
The union further urged Nigerians to hold the Federal Government accountable, warning that it might resume its strike if its demands are not met by November 21, 2025, which is the end of its four-week ultimatum.
“We call on the media, students, parents, and the public to encourage the Federal Government to take the right steps to prevent ASUU from being blamed if it decides to restart its suspended strike in the next two weeks. Just for clarity, the four weeks we have given the Federal Government will end on November 21, 2025.”
“We want to clarify that the strike was only suspended out of respect and good will during the bargaining process. Therefore, we expect the Federal Government to respond by properly addressing our demands without any further delays. Our members are losing patience as they await their rightful payments.”
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) began a two-week strike on October 12 after giving the government a 14-day ultimatum on September 28.
The union highlighted the government’s failure to address staff welfare, infrastructure funding, honoring the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement, and settling salary arrears.
In response, the Federal Government condemned ASUU’s decision to strike and instructed universities to implement a “No Work, No Pay” policy.
Additionally, it required vice-chancellors to conduct roll calls and physical checks of academic staff to report on attendance.
Weeks later, the Senate intervened, expressing concerns over the government’s inability to meet ASUU’s demands.
Senator Aliyu Dandutse, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund, stated that the Senate would initiate a new round of talks with ASUU, the Ministry of Education, and the National Universities Commission to find a long-term solution.
On the controversial land dispute involving the University of Abuja, he mentioned that the Senate would work with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to seek a peaceful resolution.
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