NANS issues seven-day ultimatum to Nigerian government and ASUU to avert looming university strike

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has given the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) a seven-day ultimatum to resolve their lingering dispute or risk mass student protests across the country.

In a statement signed by NANS President, Olushola Oladoja, on Wednesday, the students’ body warned that any disruption to the academic calendar would be “unacceptable,” stressing that Nigerian students had endured enough instability in the education sector.

Oladoja noted that universities had enjoyed two uninterrupted academic years under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope administration — a feat he said had not been recorded since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999.

He, however, expressed concern that the recent threat of industrial action by ASUU was putting that progress at risk.

“It is, therefore, in this spirit that NANS appeals to both ASUU and the Federal Government’s negotiation team to find a workable and lasting solution within the next seven days,” Oladoja said.

“Nigerian students, many of whom are now studying through educational loans, cannot afford to have their academic calendar disrupted or their duration on campus extended again.”

The warning comes amid rising tension between the government and university lecturers following ASUU’s claim that the Federal Government has failed to meet several key agreements, including the payment of withheld salaries and improved funding for universities.

Education observers fear that another strike could derail academic schedules nationwide, just as schools begin preparations for semester examinations.