The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has threatened to embark on a nationwide strike if the Federal Government fails to address long-standing demands at the expiration of a 21-day ultimatum.
The warning was issued by Innocent Simji, Zonal Coordinator of ASUP Zone B, during a press briefing in Bauchi on Friday. He said the move aligns with resolutions reached at the union’s emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held on August 14, 2025, in Abuja.
According to him, the ultimatum was triggered by the government’s continued neglect of critical issues “threatening the survival of the polytechnic education sector.”
“The Union, at her last emergency NEC meeting, resolved to issue a 21-day ultimatum to the government to address some germane issues. If nothing is done within this period, we will be left with no choice but to declare a trade dispute and withdraw the services of our members across all public polytechnics and monotechnics nationwide,” Simji warned.
He listed the union’s unresolved grievances to include:
Non-release of circulars by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission for peculiar academic allowances,
Non-payment of arrears of the 25/35% salary review, and failure to implement it in state-owned polytechnics,
Delay in granting a dual mandate structure to eliminate the dichotomy between polytechnic and university graduates,
Non-release of approved needs assessment funds for infrastructure,
Outsourcing of the NBTE’s quality assurance mandate to unqualified vendors.
Other demands, he said, include the establishment of a dedicated commission for polytechnics, release of promotion arrears, full implementation of promotions in state institutions, the long-delayed renegotiation of the 2010 ASUP/FGN agreement, and domestication of the Federal Polytechnics Act in states yet to adopt it.
Simji further decried the lingering discrimination against HND holders in public service, non-release of CONTISS 15 arrears, alleged militarisation of campuses, and undue interference in union activities — citing the Federal Polytechnic Nekede as a case in point.
He lamented what he described as the Federal Ministry of Education’s “non-committal disposition to genuine dialogue,” insisting that the union would not back down until decisive action was taken.
