ASUU Nationwide Protest Halts Academic Activities as UNILAG, UNN, and Other Universities Join – Springnewsng
Story: written by Okafor Joseph August 26,2025
Academic activities across several Nigerian public universities, including the University of Lagos (UNILAG), the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), and others, were disrupted on Tuesday, August 26, 2025, as members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) staged a nationwide protest.
The protest, organised to highlight long-standing unresolved issues with the Federal Government, saw lecturers and academic staff suspend classes and examinations in a coordinated action across campuses.
Speaking on the protest, Kayode Adebayo, a senior ASUU member at UNILAG, said the demonstration became necessary after years of unfulfilled promises from the government.
“It’s a normal protest to call attention to how, since 2009, dialogue with the Federal Government has not yielded results. We’ve been patient for too long, but nothing has been done to improve the welfare of ASUU members,” Adebayo explained.
He stressed that the protest is aimed at compelling the government to revisit the 2009 agreement with ASUU. “A document was submitted since December last year, but till now, the government has not issued a single response,” he added.
At the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), ASUU leaders confirmed that academic activities were suspended after a chapter congress meeting, while members joined the nationwide rally.
Similarly, at the Federal University, Otuoke, Bayelsa State, lecturers suspended ongoing examinations, moving them to September 1, 2025. According to Stanley Boroh, a senior lecturer at the institution, members are fully mobilised. “We are marching around the school with placards to express our displeasure at the government’s neglect, and the media has been invited to cover it,” he said.
However, at the University of Benin, normal academic activities continued, as lecturers there did not participate in the protest.
ASUU President, Christopher Piwuna, had earlier announced on Saturday, August 23, that the union would embark on the nationwide protest to demand urgent action from the government. He accused successive administrations of neglecting Nigeria’s public universities and failing to honour agreements reached with the union.
Piwuna stressed that the protest is not just about ASUU’s welfare but about saving Nigeria’s public university system from total collapse.
