ASUU Threatens Nationwide Strike Over Unpaid Salaries, Unimplemented Agreement

ASUU Threatens Nationwide Strike Over Unpaid Salaries, Unimplemented Agreement

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has threatened to reactivate its suspended nationwide strike if the Federal Government and state governments fail to urgently resolve outstanding issues affecting university lecturers.

The union warned that it could withdraw its members’ services “without any further notice”, citing the incomplete implementation of the December 2025 ASUU-Federal Government agreement, payment of the remaining 3.5 months of withheld salaries and the non-remittance of billions of naira deducted from lecturers’ salaries.

The warning followed an emergency meeting of ASUU’s National Executive Council (NEC) held at the University of Abuja.

In a statement issued in the early hours of Friday, ASUU President, Professor Christopher Piwuna, said the union could no longer guarantee industrial peace in the nation’s public universities unless urgent steps were taken to address the outstanding issues.

ASUU said the December 2025 agreement was reached after more than eight years of negotiations and struggles over the welfare of university lecturers and the broader condition of Nigeria’s public university system.

According to the union, however, the agreement has not been fully implemented by the Federal Government and several state governments.

“Unless immediate and concrete steps are taken to FULLY and COMPREHENSIVELY address issues bordering the welfare and well-being of Nigerian academics, ASUU-NEC will not accept any blame for calling out its members on a nationwide strike action within the shortest time possible,” the union warned.

The latest development raises the possibility of another disruption to academic activities in Nigeria’s public universities if the Federal Government and affected state governments fail to reach an understanding with the union.

ASUU has been pushing for full implementation of the agreement across federal and state-owned universities, arguing that inconsistent implementation has created disparities in the treatment of lecturers.

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The union commended Abia State Governor Alex Otti and the governments of Bauchi, Ekiti, Ogun, Benue, Yobe, Adamawa, Kebbi, Katsina and Borno for beginning implementation of the agreement.

It also disclosed that Kano, Edo, Plateau, Taraba, Gombe and Bayelsa states had pledged to commence implementation in September or October.

ASUU, however, warned other state governments to take action before their universities were plunged into what it described as an “industrial crisis of monumental proportions.”

The latest position follows earlier warnings by ASUU branches in several universities over the slow or incomplete implementation of the agreement and the payment of outstanding entitlements.

The union had previously directed branches in a number of universities to begin processes that could lead to industrial action, with some branches issuing ultimatums to their respective university authorities and state governments.

One of the major issues in the latest ASUU warning is the payment of withheld salaries arising from the union’s prolonged strike under the previous administration.

ASUU said the Tinubu administration had paid four of the 7.5 months of salaries withheld from its members during the dispute but insisted that the remaining 3.5 months must be released.

The union acknowledged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for paying part of the withheld salaries but said withholding the balance meant the matter remained unresolved.

“We have consistently acknowledged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for paying four (4) out of the withheld salaries. However, leaving out the unpaid balance does not give his government the full credit of a labour-friendly administration,” ASUU said.

The issue of withheld salaries has remained a major source of disagreement between the government and university lecturers since the prolonged 2022 ASUU strike.

The union has maintained that its members should not be left to bear the financial consequences of the dispute after returning to work.

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ASUU also raised concerns over the alleged non-remittance of several deductions made from lecturers’ salaries.

The union said pension contributions, cooperative deductions and union check-off dues running into billions of naira had remained unremitted for several months.

It warned that failure to remit the deductions was placing additional financial pressure on university employees and undermining confidence in the existing industrial relations framework.

According to ASUU, the combination of unpaid salaries, unremitted deductions and incomplete implementation of the 2025 agreement could worsen tensions across the university system.

“In no mistaken terms, ASUU posits that the non- or haphazard implementation of the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement by federal and state governments is a recipe for industrial crisis in Nigeria’s public universities,” the union stated.

The latest nationwide warning is coming against the backdrop of separate disputes between ASUU branches and university authorities over salaries and other entitlements.

At Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, the university’s ASUU branch recently commenced an indefinite strike over the non-payment of the full August 2026 salary to its members.

The branch said the action was based on ASUU-NEC’s standing position that branches could withdraw their services when salaries were not paid within the required period.

At Sule Lamido University, Kafin Hausa, the ASUU branch also threatened industrial action over outstanding salary-related demands and issues connected with the implementation of the agreement.

The developments have heightened concerns among students, parents and university authorities over the possibility of disruptions to lectures, examinations and other academic activities.

ASUU has, however, continued to indicate that it prefers dialogue and negotiation to industrial action, provided governments demonstrate a willingness to resolve the outstanding matters.

The union said it had given the Federal Government and state governments sufficient opportunities to address the outstanding issues but warned that continued delays could force it to take further action.

ASUU said its decision to suspend its previous nationwide strike was based on commitments made by the government and the expectation that the outstanding issues would be resolved.

It now wants the government to demonstrate concrete progress on the 2025 agreement, the payment of the remaining 3.5 months of withheld salaries and the remittance of deductions from lecturers’ salaries.

“ASUU-NEC resolved to notify all concerned that the Union may activate its suspended strike action without any further notice if the critical issues raised in this release are not speedily addressed,” the union said.

The warning means the Federal Government and state governments now face renewed pressure to resolve the dispute before it escalates into another nationwide university strike.

For students and other stakeholders in the education sector, the outcome of the ongoing engagement between ASUU and the government could determine whether Nigeria’s public universities maintain uninterrupted academic activities or face another round of industrial action.

The union has therefore urged the authorities to act quickly, stressing that it would not accept responsibility for the consequences if unresolved salary, welfare and agreement-implementation issues eventually lead to the reactivation of its suspended strike.

ASUU Threatens Nationwide Strike Over Unpaid Salaries, Unimplemented Agreement