The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Monday began an emergency meeting with leaders of major unions in the tertiary education sector as the nationwide strike by university lecturers enters a critical phase.
Reports insist that the closed-door session, currently underway at the NLC national headquarters in Abuja, includes representatives of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANIP), among others.
The meeting follows NLC’s invitation to union leaders across universities, polytechnics and colleges of education to deliberate on a unified response to the protracted industrial crisis that has paralysed academic activities nationwide.
Nigeria’s higher education system has been plagued by chronic instability, with the latest disruption triggered by ASUU’s indefinite strike.
Recall that ASUU's National President, Prof Chris Piwuna, had announced the industrial action on Sunday at a press briefing in Abuja, after the expiration of a 14-day ultimatum issued to the Federal Government on September 28.
Piwuna cited unresolved issues including staff welfare, unpaid salary arrears, dilapidated infrastructure, and the non-implementation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement. Despite recent negotiations, talks failed to prevent the strike.
Two weeks ago, Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed that government had released N50 billion for earned academic allowances and proposed N150 billion in the 2025 budget for university revitalisation, to be disbursed in three instalments.
ASUU, however, dismissed the measures as inadequate, saying that union’s demands include full implementation of past agreements, release of three-and-a-half months of withheld salaries, sustainable funding for public universities, protection from victimisation, payment of outstanding promotions and arrears, and the release of withheld cooperative and union deductions.
The NLC has reiterated its solidarity with ASUU and allied unions, warning that the principle of "No Pay, No Work" must be matched by government’s commitment to "No Work, No Breach of Agreement."
It urged the Federal Government to honour collective bargaining and respect workers’ rights.
Today’s deliberations are expected to determine the next course of action, including possible nationwide solidarity actions.
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