ASUU Owerri Zone has warned that it will commence full-scale industrial action from 21 November 2025 if the Federal Government fails to meet its longstanding salary and service demands.
According to a report from TRIBUNE, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Owerri Zone, has announced it will embark on full-scale industrial action starting 21 November 2025 unless the Federal Government addresses its longstanding demands.
The announcement, made during a press conference at ASUU–Unizik in Awka, was signed by the zonal coordinator, Prof. Dennis Aribodor. He stated, “ASUU Owerri Zone has observed with consternation the government’s continuous failure to prioritise education… The salary and conditions-of-service components of the renegotiation process remain a sore point that needs a radical approach.”
Aribodor explained that the union had suspended a two-week warning strike in October 2025, providing the government a one-month window to resolve the issues. “Eight days to the end of this one-month window, where are we?” he asked, adding that the proposed salary increment is “an insult to Nigerian university academic staff.”
Highlighting government revenue growth, Aribodor stressed that “political will or lack thereof and not economic factors” is hindering negotiations. The union is demanding full payment of outstanding arrears, promotion arrears, withheld salaries, and third-party deductions.
He concluded, “The Nigerian Government should not be comfortable with lecturers being on the same salary for 16 years amidst all the devaluations and inflation.”