The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has condemned the Federal Government’s threat to enforce the “No Work, No Pay” policy against striking university lecturers, warning that intimidation will not resolve the lingering crisis in Nigeria’s public tertiary institutions.

Reacting to the two-week warning strike declared by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, said the lecturers’ action was a legitimate response to the government’s persistent failure to honour agreements it voluntarily reached with the union.

In a statement on Monday, Ajaero said:

“The NLC is deeply concerned about the persistent crisis in Nigeria’s public education system, marked by chronic underfunding and the government’s refusal to honour agreements reached with university lecturers and workers. This continued neglect is undermining public tertiary institutions and eroding public confidence in the system.”

He noted that ASUU’s two-week warning strike was not an act of defiance but a legitimate reaction to years of unfulfilled promises and government insincerity.

“Rather than engaging in good faith to resolve the crisis, the government has resorted to the unproductive threat of ‘No Work, No Pay,’” Ajaero said. “This narrative is misleading. The breach of contract lies with the state, not the scholars. Lecturers are ready to work, but government’s failure to meet its obligations has made it impossible for them to do so with dignity and in conducive conditions. The principle remains clear: No Pay, No Work.”

The NLC president described the ongoing struggle as more than an industrial dispute, saying it reflects a deeper societal injustice and a deliberate weakening of public education.

“The children of the elite attend private institutions at home and abroad, while the children of workers are left with an underfunded, demoralised system. This perpetuates inequality and undermines social mobility. Quality education must not be a privilege for a few but a right for all,” he stated.

Ajaero declared the NLC’s total solidarity with ASUU and other unions in the tertiary education sector, urging the Federal Government to set aside threats and instead address the core issues outlined in the negotiated agreements.

“If after the two-week warning strike the government remains unresponsive, the NLC will not stand idly by,” he warned. “We will convene an emergency meeting with our affiliates in the tertiary education sector to develop a comprehensive strategy for further engagement.”

He emphasized that ASUU’s struggle is the collective struggle of the Nigerian working class.

“The fight for public education is the fight for Nigeria’s future. The NLC will no longer allow these unions to stand alone,” Ajaero said.

The statement concluded with a stern message to the Federal Government:

“We demand that the government use this two-week window to present a concrete plan for the full implementation of all agreements. The choice is clear: honour the agreements and salvage public education, or face the resolute and unified force of the entire Nigerian workforce.”