FG Warns ASUU, Threatens Enforcement Of No-Work-No-Pay Rule

The federal government has cautioned that it will implement the “no work, no pay” policy if the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) proceeds with its planned two-week warning strike set to begin on Monday.
In a joint statement issued by the minister of education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, and the minister of state for education, Professor Suwaiba Sai’d Ahmad, the government said dialogue remains the most viable path to resolving all outstanding issues within the tertiary education sector.
According to the statement, the government has presented a comprehensive offer addressing ASUU’s major concerns, including welfare, working conditions, and institutional governance, and is awaiting the union’s official response.
The ministers maintained that President Bola Tinubu’s administration has shown “commitment and sincerity” through numerous interventions, including the approval of a robust teaching allowance to motivate lecturers in public universities. They added that issues relating to the review of conditions of service have been addressed, except those that fall under the jurisdiction of individual university governing councils.
Despite these engagements, they said, ASUU appears determined to proceed with the industrial action , a decision the government described as regrettable and unjustified.
“While government remains committed to peaceful dialogue, it will equally enforce existing laws to protect the integrity of our education system and ensure accountability,” the ministers stated.
They reiterated the administration’s commitment to the welfare of lecturers and the stability of the university system, noting that reforms underway are anchored on fairness, accountability, and institutional strengthening.
“The government has shown sincerity and commitment through engagements and policy actions. We are confident that, with continued dialogue, every legitimate concern can be addressed and resolved without shutting down our campuses. Our students must remain in school,” they added.
NATIONAL ECONOMY earlier reported that ASUU had rejected the government’s last-minute appeal to suspend the planned strike, describing the intervention as “too little, too late.”
ASUU president, Professor Chris Piwuna, in an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, accused the Ministry of Education of neglecting the union’s long-standing demands despite multiple opportunities for engagement. He said the union had, after a meeting in Sokoto weeks earlier, given the government a three-week window to address its grievances but received no response or initiative from the authorities within that period.