Professor Chris Piwuna, the newly elected president of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), will formally assume leadership of the union this week, succeeding Professor Emmanuel Osodeke of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike.
Piwuna—formerly ASUU’s vice president—secured the presidency last Sunday at the 23rd National Delegates Congress in Benin City, defeating Professor Adamu Babayo of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi. As dean of student affairs and a consultant psychiatrist at the University of Jos, Piwuna is expected to reinvigorate ASUU’s push for the federal government to implement its long‑standing demands. He will present his agenda and address urgent issues at the handover ceremony at ASUU’s national headquarters in Abuja, with the leadership transition slated for completion by Thursday.
Although the government claims to have satisfied 80% of ASUU’s demands, the union insists that critical issues—university autonomy, increased funding, outstanding academic allowances, and improved salaries—remain unresolved. The last ASUU strike in 2022, which lasted eight months, ended in a legal showdown after the Buhari administration enforced a no‑work, no‑pay policy. While other university unions, including SSANU, NAAT, and NASU, returned to work, ASUU persisted until a court ordered it to suspend its action.
Former Education Minister Tahir Mamman announced that the government had raised tertiary‑institution salaries by 35%, paid half of the withheld salaries, and removed universities from the IPPIS payroll system to grant them autonomy. However, outgoing ASUU president Osodeke countered that “no single issue has been permanently resolved,” noting that privileged families still send their children abroad to study while disadvantaged students suffer at home.
Last June, President Bola Tinubu dissolved federal university governing councils—transferring oversight to the Ministry of Education and the NUC—hampering vice‑chancellor nominations, key appointments, and staff promotions. ASUU threatened fresh industrial action until Tinubu approved 55 new appointments to the governing boards of federal universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.
With Professor Piwuna now at the helm, stakeholders are watching closely to see whether his leadership will generate the momentum needed to resolve ASUU’s remaining demands and forestall further disruptions in Nigeria’s public universities.
