The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has thrown its weight behind the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), criticizing the federal government’s enforcement of the ‘No Work, No Pay’ policy against striking lecturers.
In a statement on Monday, NLC President Joe Ajaero said ASUU’s ongoing warning strike was a direct consequence of the government’s refusal to honour previously negotiated agreements.
Ajaero urged the government to suspend its threats and use the two-week strike period to address unresolved issues in the collective agreements with the union.
He warned that the government’s persistent failure to implement agreements voluntarily reached with university workers was undermining public tertiary institutions and worsening the crisis in Nigeria’s education sector.
“Rather than engaging in good faith to resolve the crisis, the government has resorted to the unproductive threat of ‘No Work, No Pay,’” Ajaero said. “This misrepresents the situation. The breach of contract lies with the state, not the scholars.”
‘We Stand With ASUU’ — NLC
The NLC declared full solidarity with ASUU and other tertiary education unions, saying the strike reflects a deeper societal problem beyond an industrial dispute.
“While the children of the elite attend private institutions or study abroad, those of the working class are left in a public education system being systematically weakened,” Ajaero said. “This creates an educational divide that perpetuates inequality.”
He added that the NLC would convene an emergency meeting with its affiliates in the education sector to craft a unified strategy for engaging the government.
“ASUU’s struggle is a fight for public education and for Nigeria’s future,” he said. “If, after this two-week warning strike, the government remains unresponsive, the NLC will not stand idly by. The choice is clear: honour the agreements and salvage public education or face the unified force of Nigerian workers.”
ASUU Strike Disrupts Examinations Nationwide
ASUU’s first nationwide strike in nearly three years began on Monday as a two-week warning action, following the expiration of a 14-day ultimatum to the federal government to address long-standing demands.
In response, the Minister of Education directed university vice-chancellors to enforce the ‘No Work, No Pay’ directive and monitor lecturers’ compliance.
The industrial action has disrupted examinations and academic activities in several universities across the country.
ASUU’s Longstanding Demands
The union’s dispute with the government dates back to a 2009 agreement covering university funding, conditions of service, and revitalisation of public institutions.
Its demands include the conclusion of the renegotiated 2009 FGN–ASUU Agreement, release of withheld salaries, sustainable university funding, and the payment of outstanding salary and promotion arrears.
ASUU also seeks the release of withheld cooperative deductions and implementation of recommendations from the Yayale Ahmed-led committee, which submitted its report to the government in December 2024.
However, ASUU President Chris Piwuna said the government delayed action for months, only to inaugurate another review committee in August 2025.
“The proposal the government later presented was a complete departure from the draft produced by the Ahmed committee,” Piwuna said, adding that the union only heard back from the government days before its ultimatum expired.
