ASUU has declared that 2025 might be a year filled with relentless confrontations between the union and the Federal Government if pending issues remain unresolved.

The Ibadan chapter Chairman of ASUU, Professor Ayo Akinwole, recently laid out the union’s frustrations, accusing the Federal Government of neglecting the education sector.

According to him, the government has consistently failed to address critical issues affecting universities, including:

• Funding revitalisation agreements from the FGN-ASUU MoUs of 2012, 2013, and the MoA of 2017.
• Non-payment of withheld salaries and arrears of Earned Academic Allowances (EAA).
• Unresolved issues with third-party deductions, such as cooperative savings and retirement contributions.
• Failure to replace IPPIS with UTAS, a payment system designed to cater to university lecturers.
• Inadequate attention to the proliferation of public universities and the implementation of visitation panel reports.

These long-standing issues, ASUU warns, could lead to another round of strikes if left unaddressed in 2025.

What ASUU Expects in 2025

To prevent a crisis, ASUU has outlined specific expectations for the Federal Government:

1. Immediate payment of withheld salaries and Earned Academic Allowances.
2. Implementation of the Nimi Briggs-led renegotiated draft agreement, which proposes salary adjustments in line with current economic realities.
3. Proper funding of public universities through initiatives like TETFund, which is currently under threat from proposed tax reforms.
4. Restoration of lecturers’ salaries to align with the African average.
5. Immediate adoption of UTAS to replace the controversial IPPIS system.

ASUU also rejected the Federal Government’s plan to replace the education tax with a “development levy,” warning that this would cripple TETFund, which has been instrumental in providing infrastructure for public universities.