Fresh details have surfaced indicating that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) may be frustrating the Federal Government’s renewed bid to end recurring strike crises in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.
The union, which recently declared a two-week warning strike, has also vowed to counter the government’s “no work, no pay” policy with its own “no pay, no work” response — a move that further heightens tension within the education sector.
Government–ASUU Talks Broke Down Before Strike
Contrary to widespread belief that the government failed to engage the lecturers, insider information shows that both sides held extensive talks until last Friday — just days before the union announced its strike.
Sources said the meeting was led by the Deputy Chairman of the Federal Government Negotiating Team, Senator Lanre Tejuosho, and attended by top ASUU officials. The discussions were described as open and constructive, with both sides sharing perspectives on the lingering disputes.
At the end of the session, The Guardian gathered that ASUU promised to consult its members and report back. However, sources in the government negotiation team told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the union never did.
“They promised to get back after the meeting, but they didn’t. The next thing we saw was their public announcement of a nationwide strike,” a senior government official said.
Government insiders maintain that the administration had shown commitment by initiating dialogue within the two-week notice window given by the union.
“They only got back on Sunday, after they had already gone public with the strike,” another source disclosed, adding that ASUU had yet to agree on a fresh meeting date.
ASUU Defiant Over ‘No Work, No Pay’ Threat
Reacting to the Federal Government’s warning, ASUU’s Bayero University, Kano (BUK) branch chairman, Professor Ibrahim Siraj, insisted that the union would not be intimidated.
Speaking with journalists in Kano, Siraj said ASUU was accustomed to such tactics from government and would remain resolute in its demands.
“ASUU is not new to these strategies. We’ve crossed this road before and will cross it again. We remain undeterred,” he declared.
The BUK chairman confirmed that lecturers nationwide are fully complying with the strike directive — halting all teaching, supervision, examinations, and other academic activities.
Although lecturers oversaw the final paper of the second-semester examination on Monday, marking the start of the semester break, ASUU said no academic work would continue throughout the warning strike period.