ASUU at Modibbo Adama University Threatens to Join Nationwide Strike as Ultimatum Nears Expiration
THE🎺TRUMPETNEWS
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Modibbo Adama University (MAU) Yola chapter, has declared its readiness to join a nationwide industrial action should the Federal Government fail to address the union’s long-standing demands within the remaining one week of its 14-day ultimatum.
The university’s branch Chairperson, Comrade M. B. Modibbo, made this known while addressing journalists in Yola, lamenting that university lecturers have run out of patience after enduring years of unfulfilled promises and government inaction.
According to her, the union had anticipated a positive response following the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held on September 29, but more than a week after communicating their resolutions to the relevant ministries, “no meaningful step has been taken to resolve the lingering issues.”
Comrade Modibbo outlined the key unresolved demands, including:
1. Full implementation of the 2009 ASUU–Federal Government Agreement,
2. Improved funding of public universities,
3. Better welfare for academic staff,
4. Release of three and a half months of withheld salaries,
5. Payment of outstanding third-party deductions, and
6. Settlement of promotion arrears, among others.
He decried the government’s repeated delays and failure to honor signed agreements, describing the situation as “unbearable for lecturers and detrimental to students’ learning.”
> “We cannot continue to work under these harsh conditions while our agreements remain ignored. What we are asking for is fairness and respect for the sanctity of agreements,” he said.
The ASUU branch leader warned that the continued neglect of university staff welfare and the chronic underfunding of higher institutions have not only disrupted academic calendars but also eroded the quality of tertiary education across the country.
Comrade Modibbo called on the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, and the Minister of Labour, Muhammad Dingyadi, to act swiftly and engage in meaningful dialogue with ASUU’s national leadership before the ultimatum expires. Failure to do so, he cautioned, could trigger another nationwide shutdown of universities, reminiscent of the prolonged strike of 2022.
She also appealed to members of the MAU ASUU branch to remain calm, united, and guided by directives from the union’s leadership.
> “We are not going on strike for pleasure; we are fighting for the future of public universities and for the generations yet unborn. Education must not be allowed to collapse under our watch,” Comrade Modibbo concluded.