The House of Representatives has announced plans to wade into the ongoing dispute between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities in a bid to end the two-week warning strike declared by the union on Monday.
This followed a motion moved on Tuesday by a lawmaker representing Badagry Federal Constituency under the All Progressives Congress, Sesi Whinga, Channels TV reports.
Whingan said the intervention of the green chamber’s leadership is aimed at finding a permanent resolution to the lingering industrial crisis that has crippled Nigeria’s public university system for years.
ASUU had on Monday commenced a two-week nationwide warning strike after the expiration of a 14-day ultimatum issued to the Federal Government to meet its long-standing demands — the union’s first nationwide strike in nearly three years.
The lecturers are demanding the implementation of the renegotiated 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement, payment of withheld three-and-a-half months’ salaries, revitalisation of public universities, and sustainable funding of the tertiary education sector.
Other grievances include the payment of 25–35% salary arrears, promotion arrears spanning over four years and the release of withheld cooperative deductions.
The renegotiation of the 2009 agreement has been stalled since 2017, despite multiple committees set up by successive administrations.
The most recent, led by Yayale Ahmed, submitted its report in December 2024, but implementation has yet to begin.
In response to the strike, the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, reportedly directed university vice-chancellors to enforce the government’s ‘No Work, No Pay’ policy for lecturers participating in the industrial action.
The ongoing strike has already disrupted examinations in several universities nationwide, sparking renewed calls for urgent government action.
Lawmakers say the House leadership will engage both sides in the coming days to prevent a full-blown shutdown of the nation’s tertiary institutions.