ASUU Threatens Fresh Strike, Gives FG, States Ultimatum Over Unpaid Salaries, Agreement
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has threatened to shut down public Universities across Nigeria again if the Federal Government and State authorities fail to address outstanding welfare issues and fully implement the 2025 agreement reached with the Union.
The Union warned that it may reactivate its suspended industrial action “without any further notice” if concrete steps are not taken to resolve the issues.
The warning followed an emergency meeting of ASUU’s National Executive Council (NEC), held on September 5, 2026, at the Festus Iyayi National Secretariat Complex of the University of Abuja.
In a statement signed by the National President of ASUU, Prof. Christopher Piwuna, the union expressed dissatisfaction over what it described as the non-implementation of the December 2025 agreement, unpaid withheld salaries and the failure to remit billions of naira deducted from workers’ salaries for third-party obligations.
ASUU demands payment of withheld salaries
One of the major issues raised by the union is the payment of three-and-a-half months’ salaries allegedly withheld from university lecturers during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
ASUU said although the current administration had made a partial payment covering four months, outstanding arrears remained unresolved.
The union argued that the economic value of the outstanding salaries had been severely eroded by inflation and the depreciation of the naira, putting the loss at more than 50 per cent in real terms.
ASUU said lecturers had already performed the work for which their salaries were withheld and appealed for the immediate release of the outstanding funds.
“We state for the umpteenth time that the lecturers have done the work for which they are being punished. They did it at huge cost to their physical and psycho-social well-being,” the union said.
It added that some lecturers had reportedly lost their lives during the period, while others were dealing with serious health challenges.
The Union therefore called for the immediate payment of the withheld salaries, describing the move as necessary for healing and restoration within Nigeria’s university system.
Billions in deductions allegedly unremitted
ASUU also raised concerns over billions of naira in third-party deductions from university workers’ salaries which, according to the union, have not been remitted to the appropriate beneficiaries.
The deductions reportedly include pension contributions, staff cooperative funds and union check-off dues.
The union linked the issue to its longstanding opposition to the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), which has been a major point of contention between ASUU and successive governments.
ASUU warned that it was prepared to mobilise its members if the Federal Government failed to resolve the matter.
“ASUU-NEC is fully prepared to call out its members if nothing concrete is done to address this lingering problem without further delay,” the statement said.
Disagreement over 2025 agreement implementation
The lecturers’ union also expressed dissatisfaction with the uneven implementation of the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement across federal and state-owned universities.
Although ASUU acknowledged recent interventions by the Federal Ministry of Education to address salary-related issues at federal universities of agriculture, it said broader implementation of the agreement remained inconsistent.
The union commended Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, for adopting the 2025 agreement and taking steps to resolve administrative delays affecting its implementation.
ASUU also identified progress in the implementation of the agreement in Bauchi, Ekiti, Ogun, Benue, Yobe, Adamawa, Kebbi, Katsina and Borno states.
According to the union, Kano, Edo, Plateau, Taraba, Gombe and Bayelsa states have also recorded commitments towards implementing the agreement.
However, ASUU warned that governors who fail to honour the agreement could face industrial action in their respective states.
The union said such action would be localised to affected state-owned universities rather than necessarily extending to the entire country.
Public universities face fresh disruption
The latest warning has raised concerns over another disruption to Nigeria’s university system, particularly if negotiations between the union and the authorities fail to produce concrete results.
Global Mirror News reports that ASUU’s latest position comes against the backdrop of years of disputes over university funding, lecturers’ welfare, salary arrears, working conditions and the implementation of agreements reached with successive administrations.
The union has repeatedly resorted to industrial action in the past when negotiations with the Federal Government broke down, resulting in prolonged closures of public universities and disruption to academic calendars.
For now, ASUU has not announced a definite date for the commencement of a fresh nationwide strike. Instead, it has warned that its suspended industrial action could be reactivated without further notice if the outstanding issues are not satisfactorily addressed.
The development puts pressure on the Federal Government and state governments to intensify discussions with the union and prevent another disruption to academic activities in public Universities.
