The union expressed dissatisfaction with significant obstacles, such as a hostile work environment and debilitating service conditions for its members. The union president stated that the Nigerian university education system did not benefit from the unresolved status of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement, the struggle in state universities, or the erosion of University Autonomy.
Piwuna stated that the union may engage in industrial action to emphasize these demands, particularly the 2009 Agreement, which remains unresolved. He requested that the N150 billion revitalization fund be made available to the public. According to Piwuna, Nigerian governments, both federal and state, "merely pay lip service to the business of education in general and the welfare of university academics in particular." It is regrettable that the arduous process of renegotiating the FGN/ASUU Agreement from 2009 has gone on indefinitely since 2017.
“The need to share our burdens with you and other patriotic Nigerians and friends of Nigeria for the education of Nigerian youth and the development of our dear country necessitates this press conference. “The whirlwind of policy misadventures and orchestrated bewilderment of the polity has not spared the university system. “The last push has not been completed, and it has been frozen once more after some recommendations from both parties were submitted to the government for consideration and approval in December 2024. “Our members in the last two years or so have had to contend with enormous challenges arising from hostile work environment and debilitating conditions of service. We will try to provide more information on this shortly.
The new ASUU President criticized the degree of implementation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement and urged the current administration not to test its resolve, noting that it has deferred striking for approximately a year. He stated, "We believe the Yayale Ahmed Committee has worked hard, that we have completed the work with them, and that we need to hear from them." We believe they ought to return as we have not heard from them.
The Yayale Ahmed Committee ought to meet with their principals and respond to us immediately. We have run out of patience waiting for this renegotiated agreement, so we're giving up. “It is noted that the government has made promises on some of these issues,” he continued. After budgeting N29 billion for the payment of 2025 Earned Academic Allowances and releasing N50 billion for backlog, the government agreed to mainstream the EAA into salaries by creating an Irregular Allowance line in the 2026 Budget.
"In a similar vein, the government also agreed to provide a revitalization fund of N150 billion within four weeks, beginning in April 2025. However, we are still awaiting the fulfillment of these promises by the government. The Union has also reached an agreement with the Committee led by Yayale Ahmed. In December 2024, the Union will review the report of the FGN-ASUU Renegotiation Committee led by Nimi Briggs.
Again, ASUU members have been left in the dark, waiting five months for an Agreement to be signed! "Delegates at the UNIBEN National Delegates' Conference thoroughly evaluated the government's disposition in resolving outstanding issues with the union and expressed regret that nothing has changed significantly in the last two years," reads the statement. ASUU's demands include completing the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement on the basis of the Nimi Briggs Committee's Draft Agreement of 2021; releasing the three-and-a-half months of salaries that were withheld as a result of the strike action in 2022; and releasing the unpaid salaries of staff members on sabbatical, adjunct, and part-time appointments.