The Chairman of ASUU, University of Ibadan (UI)chapter, Dr Adefemi Afolab on Tuesday said there is no going back on the two-week nationwide warning strike embarked upon by the union.
Afolabi told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan that members of the union have complied with the warning strike.
“We have been duly and constantly carried along in meetings called at the national level and members have also criticised the slow speed at which the government has been treating the matter.
“ It is good to state that the federal government received the report of the committee that was set up to review the report of the previous committee that was set up in 2016 .
“ The current committee was set up in 2024 September to review the previous committee report and it was submitted in February 2025.
`This means that for eight months nothing has happened.
“The union has made several efforts to contact people who we believe the government will listen to apart from the efforts we’ve been making to get the implementation done on time,” he said.
According to Afolabi, the last meeting at the national level was on Sept. 28 and it was at the meeting a decision was made to give the government a 2- week Ultimatum to sign the draft agreement of the committee.
“ If nothing is done within the stipulated time the warning strike will begin. All these were stated clearly to the government hence the warning strike he said.
He added that the no work no pay warning from the government was not new.
“We will get by and by. The response we expected was that the government would resolve the matter and they have the leverage of power to sign the agreement and also poses the finances to pay salaries of universities which is the core issue here.
“So why is the government waiting for this warning strike before issuing a no work no pay warning.
`It’s unfortunate that that’s the type of response we get from the government.
“We as ASUU or any union will not want our students to be outside of the university. Our joy is for them to finish their education on time and graduate,” he said.
He, however, urged the government to do the needful in order to end the recycling of strikes.
Ayobami Lawal, a 300-level students, while speaking on the warning strike blamed the government saying that the incessant strike in the country was unfair to both students and lecturers.
Lawal said that lecturers deserves better treatment from the government because of the great impact they are making in the society.
“ When the lecturers are well paid they wil perform optimally and produce quality graduates who inturn will make positive impact in the society, ” he said.
Yetunde Adebayo a 200-level student said that incessant strike can affect students in their studies .
“Do you know it took some of us, I mean the students longer period to gain admission to study in the instructions and when you add up this incessant strike it not suitable at all.
“Learning would be more fun and fast when their are no strikes, we need a stop to strikes in the educational sector.
“ The government should prioritise our lecturers like they do to politicians,” she said.
NAN reports that the federal government has directed vice-chancellors of federal universities across the country to strictly enforce the “no work, no pay” policy against members of the ASUU currently participating in the ongoing nationwide strike.
The directive is contained in a circular dated Oct. 13,, and signed by the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa.
The circular was copied to the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Permanent Secretary of Education, Pro-Chancellors of all federal universities, Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, the Accountant-General of the Federation, and the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission.
According to the circular, the Federal Ministry of Education expressed dissatisfaction over reports of the continued industrial action by ASUU despite repeated calls for dialogue, stressing that government would no longer tolerate non-compliance with extant labour laws.
NAN reports that in its notice after a National Executive Council meeting, the union decried the neglect of the university system and the government’s consistent refusal to heed to its demands.
“Apart from engagement with the press, in August 2025, members of the ASUU in both federal and state universities held rallies, carrying placards, on their campuses to press the government to address the lingering issues in the university system.
“Nothing came out of all these rallies and pleas. What is clear for now is that both the federal and state governments have a strong habit of paying little or no attention to the education sector in general and the welfare of university academics in particular,” ASUU stated.(NAN)
