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ASUU declares two-week warning strike over unresolved demands
Members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU has declared a two-week warning strike in the nation’s public universities, alleging federal government’s reluctance to meet their demands. The warning strike, which commences midnight Sunday, was announced by the National President of the union, Prof. Chris Piwuna, while briefing newsmen in Abuja. However, another academic staff union in the university system, the Congress of University Academics, CONUA, said its members would be on their desks, as there is no reason for them to go on strike. The National President of CONUA, Dr Niyi Sunmonu, stated this in a chat with one of our correspondents on Sunday. Declaring the position of ASUU, Piwuna said the action became necessary because the FG failed to meet their demands after a 14-day ultimatum earlier issued lapsed.
The ASUU President said after the two-week warning strike, and the government fails to meet their demands, what would follow would be a total and comprehensive strike. Prof. Piwuna explained that the action became necessary to draw attention to the government’s persistent refusal to implement agreements and address critical issues affecting Nigerian universities. “It is regrettable to note that nothing significant has happened since our last briefing on the eight issues in dispute,” he said. The unresolved issues include: ”The conclusion and signing of the renegotiated 2009 FGN–ASUU Agreement; payment of withheld three-and-a-half months’ salaries; sustainable funding and revitalization of public universities and end to the victimization of lecturers in LASU, KSU (now Prince Abubakar Audu University), and FUTO, Others are :”Settlement of outstanding 25–35% salary arrears; payment of promotion arrears spanning over four years, and release of withheld third-party deductions such as cooperative contributions and union dues. Prof. Piwuna noted that despite several appeals and assurances from government officials, including a letter dated September 30, 2025, from the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, nothing tangible had been achieved. He said that the outcome of an emergency meeting of the FGN/ASUU 2009 Agreement Renegotiation Committee held on October 10 was disappointing, describing the documents presented by the government as “provocative and inconsistent” with previous drafts.
“The hurriedly packaged documents were a total departure from the spirit of the Nimi Briggs-led renegotiated agreement and incapable of dousing industrial tension across campuses,” the ASUU president said. ASUU accused the government of bad faith and deliberate delay tactics, lamenting that months of negotiation had yielded no results. It is a betrayal of historic responsibility if we continue to fall for the government’s deception and manipulation,” Piwuna declared. “What is needed is the fundamental transformation of our university system, not token promises, “he said. The union appealed for understanding from students, parents, and the public, stressing that its struggle was aimed at saving Nigeria’s university system from collapse. “We invite patriotic Nigerians, workers, media practitioners, and civil society activists to join ASUU in this transformational mission,” the statement added. ASUU’s National Executive Council ,NEC, has directed all its branches nationwide to withdraw their services effective 12:01 a.m. Monday, October 13, 2025,” he insisted.
Speaking on the development, the National Public Relations Officer of the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, Comrade Adeyemi Samson Ajasa, explained the steps taken by the association to avert the current situation. “While the back and forth between the ASUU and the government was on before the declaration of tbe warning strike, NANS made spirited efforts at averting the strike by liaising with both sides. The current National President of NANS is from the University of Jos, just like the current National President of ASUU. We tried to exploit that. We also met with the Honourable Minister of Education on the matter, he said. Commenting on what the student body would want the parties to do, Ajasa called for a quick resolution of the dispute. Our hope is that even before the two-week warning strike ends, the issues involved would have been resolved. We don’t want a situation where the dispute would degenerate to a full blown strike that could be endless. If we assess the situation too, the demands are also for the betterment of the university education too,” he added.
Cardano (ADAUSD) climbed amidst tight trading activities in the crypto market, up by 1.05% in the past 24 hours, showing resilience near key support.
The price ticked up on Sunday amidst negative movements in the global crypto market. The gain has reduced its negative movement in the week to 1%. Cardano is showing strength with a $70 million ADA treasury push and a bullish December setup, but it faces key resistance amidst competing traders.
The token is trading at $0.4165 at the time of filing the report on Sunday, gaining more than 1% on the day as volume traded reached $359.252 million. The token is in a notable correction from its November highs. Recent trading activity reflects pronounced investor caution. Over a 30-day period, ADA has declined approximately 15%, mirroring the broader pressure on risk assets from macroeconomic uncertainties.
Sentiment trades mixed, as retail and mid-sized investors are accumulating at lows, but large holders remain sceptical. Cardano’s privacy-centric Midnight Network went live after years of development, introducing NIGHT – the first native asset on Cardano.
According to crypto analysts, Short-term speculation around NIGHT airdrops and interoperability boosted ADA demand. ADA rebounded from $0.371–$0.416 after testing an ascending trend line connecting 2023–2025 lows. Traders interpreted the bounce as a bullish divergence, but ADA remains below critical resistance of $0.5113 and its 200-day EMA of $0.68.
ADA’s minor rally reflects optimism around Midnight’s launch and oversold technicals, but scepticism about its ecosystem impact and whale selling caps upside. While the price surges, analysts stated that Cardano balances technical hope against macroeconomic headwinds, with Midnight’s adoption trajectory and $0.51 resistance serving as critical watch points.
While governance upgrades signal maturing decentralisation, crypto analysts are still querying whether ADA can leverage these developments to reverse its 2025 underperformance.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has recovered over 7.6 million pills of tramadol and a total of 76,273.4 kilograms of different strains of cannabis.
The agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said this in a statement on Sunday in Abuja. Mr Babafemi said that the drugs, including Colorado, Loud and Skunks, had several members of drug trafficking organisations linked to the seizures arrested.
He said that out of the total opioids seized during the raids, not less than 3,874,000 pills of tramadol, 225mg and 100mg, and others, as well as 252.2litres of codeine syrup were recovered. He said that they were recovered from a warehouse at Oko market, Asaba, Delta, on Saturday. He also said that no fewer than 1.2 million tablets of tramadol 225mg were seized from a suspect on December 3.
This, he said, was when NDLEA operatives on patrol at Orogwe, along the Onitsha-Owerri road, Imo, intercepted his vehicle conveying the consignment, which was loaded at Aba, Abia, and heading to Onitsha, Anambra. Meanwhile, in Adamawa, NDLEA officers on December 1 intercepted a Toyota Hiace bus marked MGU 554 XB along Maraba-Mubi, coming from Jos, Plateau state, and heading to Mubi, with a total of 1,577,112 capsules of tramadol.
“Other drugs intercepted were Exol-5 tablets, all concealed inside jumbo bags mixed with new rubber sandals and slippers. Two suspects were arrested in connection with the seizure. Similarly, another 27-year-old suspect was nabbed along Zaria-Kano road, Kano state, with 197,000 pills of exol-5,” he said.
The NDLEA chairman, Buba Marwa, commended the officers and men of the SOU commands in Delta, Adamawa, Imo, Ondo, Lagos, and Kano for the arrests and seizures. Mr Marwa said that their operational successes, along with those of their compatriots across the country, especially their balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction, were well appreciated. NAN
The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) has released the 2025 Subnational Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) Report, with Lagos emerging as the best-performing state, scoring 85.6 per cent.
The report released by the director-general of PEBEC, Zahrah Mustapha-Audu, has Kaduna in second position with 65.1 per cent. Oyo, FCT, and Ogun rounded up the top five with scores of 62.7 per cent, 61.0 per cent, and 59.9 per cent, respectively. Others include Enugu (56.2 per cent) in sixth position, with Plateau (56.2 per cent), Ekiti (55.8 per cent), Kano (54.8 per cent), and Nasarawa (53.4 per cent) rounding out the top 10 states.
The EoDB report is a comprehensive data-driven assessment of how Nigeria’s 36 states and the FCT are shaping business competitiveness through regulation, infrastructure, and administrative efficiency.
The report assesses performance across 16 indicators and 36 sub-metrics covering electricity, infrastructure, digital connectivity, land administration, taxation, trade logistics, justice delivery, investor support and skilled labour readiness.
According to the DG, these states distinguished themselves through consistent reform momentum, improved digital processes, and more predictable regulatory environments. “The 2025 Report also highlights five priority interventions states can implement immediately. These include establishing investor aftercare systems, strengthening MSME credit enablement, harmonising interstate trade rules, upgrading commercial justice processes, and improving power reliability for industrial clusters,” she said.
According to her, PEBEC will continue to support state-led reform adoption, particularly under the $750 million State Action on Business Enabling Reforms (SABER) programme. She added that “the 2025 Subnational EoDB Report provides a critical foundation for policy action, investment decisions, and long-term competitiveness across Nigeria.”
The DG said the Subnational Ease of Doing Business Report is available for download at www.pebec.gov.ng/reports
PEBEC had earlier released its 2025 Business Facilitation Act (BFA) Performance Report, covering MDAs’ performance from January to October. This performance report is part of the council’s effort to track and measure the compliance of federal government MDAs with the BFA’s requirements on promoting Transparency and Efficiency of government-delivered services to the business community.
The report presents a data-driven assessment of 69 priority MDAs, drawing on monthly compliance submissions, independent mystery shopping, website audits, ReportGov analytics, and targeted process-verification exercises.
According to the report, the top five performing MDAs include the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), with an impressive 90.6 per cent score, followed by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at 89 per cent. The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), ranks third with 86.6percent, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) secured the fourth and fifth positions, scoring 85.3 per cent and 84.2 per cent, respectively.
PEBEC, currently chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima, was established in July 2016 by the federal government to oversee Nigeria’s business environment intervention. It has a dual mandate of removing bureaucratic and legislative constraints to doing business and improving the perception of the ease of doing business in Nigeria. NAN
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