ASUU Threatens Fresh Strike Over Unpaid Salaries

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

The union said it could reactivate the industrial action without any further notice over the incomplete implementation of the December 2025 agreement, payment of 3.5 months’ outstanding withheld salaries and the failure to remit billions of naira deducted from lecturers’ earnings.

ASUU stated this in a communiqué issued by its President, Christopher Piwuna, after an emergency meeting of its National Executive Council at the University of Abuja.

The union said the December 2025 agreement was reached after more than eight years of negotiations and struggles but had yet to be fully implemented by the Federal Government and several state governments.

ASUU warned that failure to urgently address the outstanding issues could trigger another nationwide strike.

“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 stated.

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

It added that Kano, Edo, Plateau, Taraba, Gombe and Bayelsa states had promised to commence implementation between September and October.

ASUU, however, urged other state governments to act quickly to prevent their universities from being plunged into what it described as an industrial crisis of monumental proportions.

On withheld salaries, the lecturers’ union acknowledged that the Tinubu administration had paid four of the 7.5 months’ salaries withheld during the previous administration.

It nevertheless demanded payment of the outstanding 3.5 months.

“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 union also raised concerns over the non-remittance of pension contributions, cooperative deductions and check-off dues deducted from lecturers’ salaries.

According to ASUU, the deductions amounted to billions of naira and had remained unremitted for several months.

The union said the combination of unpaid salaries, outstanding deductions and the incomplete implementation of the 2025 agreement was creating tension 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,” it stated.

ASUU urged the Federal Government and state governments to resolve the issues without further delay.

The union warned that it would not accept responsibility if it reactivated its suspended strike.

“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,” it said.