The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has given the Federal Government a 21-day ultimatum to resolve long-standing issues affecting polytechnic education in Nigeria.

The ultimatum was announced on Thursday in Lagos by Mr. Monday Ojo, Chairman of ASUP at Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), speaking on behalf of the union’s national president, Mr. Shammah Kpanja.

He said ASUP, at its emergency National Executive Council meeting in Abuja, expressed concern over “disturbing developments” threatening the stability of the polytechnic sector.

“The Federal Government has failed to make concrete commitments. This has left us with no choice but to issue this ultimatum,” Ojo stated.

The union listed key grievances including the non-release of the circular for Peculiar Academic Allowance, unpaid arrears from the 25/35 per cent salary review, and continued discrimination against Higher National Diploma (HND) holders.

ASUP also condemned delays in the release of the second phase of the NEEDS Assessment intervention, criticised the outsourcing of quality assurance activities, and accused the government of stalling renegotiation of the ASUP/FGN 2010 Agreement.

“Our members remain demotivated by unpaid promotion arrears, some dating back to 2019. This is unacceptable and damaging morale across institutions,” Ojo said.

He further warned that if the issues remain unresolved after 21 days, the union would be forced to declare a trade dispute and withdraw services nationwide.

At a separate YABATECH congress, Zone C Coordinator, Masopa Nurudeen, decried inadequate salaries and worsening financial hardship among members.