The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has given the Federal Government a four-day ultimatum to begin the implementation of a newly approved salary structure for university lecturers.
The union’s National President, Christopher Piwuna, made this known on Thursday while speaking at a public lecture held at Sa’adu Zungur University, Yuli Campus, in Bauchi State. He said the timeline takes immediate effect and leaves the government with little room for delay.
“We have issued a four-day ultimatum from today to the Federal Government to begin the payment of the newly approved salary structure. Failure to comply will attract a strong response from the union,” he said.
Piwuna stressed that the demand is not new. He said it forms part of long-standing agreements between ASUU and the government, which have repeatedly suffered delays in execution.
According to him, the welfare of lecturers remains a critical issue that cannot be ignored any longer.
He linked the poor remuneration of lecturers to the growing brain drain in the university system. Many experienced academics, he noted, are leaving the country for better opportunities abroad. This trend, he warned, is gradually weakening the quality of higher education in Nigeria.
The ASUU president also expressed concern over what he described as a pattern of unfulfilled promises by the government.
He said several agreements reached in the past were either partially implemented or abandoned, leading to frequent disputes.
He added that the union has shown patience over time but may be forced to take decisive steps if the current demand is not met within the given deadline.
ASUU has a history of embarking on nationwide strikes to press home its demands. Such actions have often shut down public universities for months, affecting millions of students across the country.
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