From Scholastica Hir, Makurdi
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi (FUAM), has called on the Federal Government to address the lingering 2009 renegotiated agreements among other issues or risk plunging the university system into imminent crisis.
Chairperson of ASUU-FUAM, Comrade Paul Anyagh made this call on Tuesday, August 26, 2025, while briefing newsmen after their Congress meeting in line with the resolutions of the National Executive Council (NEC).
Anyagh, who led his members on a protest round the school campus, said they are strongly dissatisfied the the government’s persistent neglect of their demands.
He stated that the Congress reviewed the Federal Government’s persistent neglect of its obligations and noted with dismay that the 2009 ASUU-FGN renegotiated Agreement has remained unattended to despite the submission of the Alhaji Yayale Ahmed led committee report in February 2025.
According to him, members expressed disgust at government’s failure to pay the three and half months of withheld salaries for which all works have been completed, 25%-35% arrears, delayed payment of promotion arrears of over four years, continued victimization of their colleagues in LASU, KSU and FUTO, third-party deductions and failure to ensure sustainable funding and revitalization of public universities.
After analysing the multiplier effects of the Tertiary Institutions Staff Support Fund (TISSF), ASUU FUAM members described it as a debt trap designed to further enslave the already indebted academics.
“We insist that government should instead use such funds to offset withheld salaries and sign the renegotiated agreement to restore our members’ purchasing power. Consequently, congress rejects the TISSF in its entirety.”
ASUU-FUAM also decried the plight of retired academics who, after decades of service, are subjected to paltry pensions that cannot sustain them in today’s harsh economy.
They therefore resolved that unless urgent action is taken at the government’s scheduled meeting of 28 August 2025, members can no longer guarantee industrial harmony.
“Our patience has been stretched beyond the limits, and the responsibility for any disruption of academic activities should be placed squarely on the government. ENOUGH is ENOUGH of this deliberate humiliation and dehumanizing of academics.”
The union called on all well-meaning Nigerians, including NIREC, NANS, traditional institutions, and the National Assembly, to prevail on government to do the needful and avert an avoidable crisis in the university system.
During the protest, members of the ASUU FUAM were seen bearing placard with several inscriptions including “Fund Our Universities Not Empty Promises,” “Education is. Right Not a Privilege,” “Universities Are Starving and Bleeding,” “Release Our 25%-35% arrears,” “ASUU Stan for Quality Education,” among others.
