ASUU-FUAM Warns FG: Address Lingering Issues or Face Imminent Strike … Labels TISSF a Debt Trap

From Dooshima Terkura, Makurdi

Members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi (FUAM), on Tuesday staged a protest, warning of an imminent strike if the Federal Government fails once again to address the long-standing 2009 renegotiated agreements and other unresolved matters.

During the protest on August 26, 2025, ASUU-FUAM members marched around the campus, chanting solidarity songs and carrying placards with inscriptions such as: “Fund Our Universities, Not Empty Promises,” “Education is a Right, Not a Privilege,” “Universities are Starving and Bleeding,” “Release Our 25%-35% Arrears,” “ASUU Stands for Quality Education,” and “Don’t Casualize University Academics, Pay Us Our Withheld Salaries.”

Briefing journalists after their Congress meeting, ASUU-FUAM Chairperson, Comrade Paul Anyagh, said the protest was in line with resolutions of the National Executive Council (NEC). He stressed that members were deeply dissatisfied with what they described as the government’s persistent neglect of their demands.

According to him, the Congress noted with dismay that the 2009 ASUU-FGN renegotiated agreement remains unattended to, despite the submission of the Alhaji Yayale Ahmed-led committee report in February 2025.

Anyagh listed other grievances, including the non-payment of three and a half months’ withheld salaries, 25%-35% arrears, delayed payment of promotion arrears spanning over four years, the continued victimization of colleagues in LASU, KSU, and FUTO, non-remittance of third-party deductions, and failure to ensure sustainable funding and revitalization of public universities.

On the Tertiary Institutions Staff Support Fund (TISSF), ASUU-FUAM members rejected it outright, describing it as a “debt trap” designed to further impoverish already indebted academics.

> “We insist that government should instead use such funds to clear withheld salaries and sign the renegotiated agreement to restore our members’ purchasing power. Consequently, Congress rejects the TISSF in its entirety,” Anyagh declared.

The union also raised concerns over the plight of retired academics, lamenting that many, after decades of service, are left with paltry pensions insufficient to survive in the current harsh economic climate.

ASUU-FUAM resolved that unless the Federal Government takes decisive action during its scheduled meeting on August 28, 2025, industrial harmony in universities can no longer be guaranteed.

> “Our patience has been stretched beyond limits. The responsibility for any disruption of academic activities should be placed squarely on the government. Enough is enough of this deliberate humiliation and dehumanization of academics,” the union warned.

They further called on all well-meaning Nigerians, including the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), traditional institutions, and the National Assembly, to intervene and press the government to act swiftly in order to avert another crisis in the university system.