The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has threatened that Nigerian universities could be heading for another round of industrial action, with the union threatening to resume its nationwide strike without further notice if the Federal Government and state governments fail to resolve outstanding issues affecting university lecturers.
The warning followed an emergency meeting of the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) held on September 5, 2026, at the ASUU national secretariat, University of Abuja, Giri, Abuja.
In a statement issued yesterday, ASUU President, Prof Christopher Piwuna, said the Federal Government and several state governments had failed to properly implement the December 2025 agreement reached with the union after years of negotiations and industrial disputes.
ASUU lamented that the implementation of the agreement has itself become a fresh source of conflict.
According to the union, “The Federal Government and many state governments have failed to properly implement the December 2025 agreement reached with the union after more than eight years of negotiations and industrial struggles.”
ASUU said the implementation crisis had been compounded by the continued withholding of part of lecturers’ salaries from the 2022 strike period, non-remittance of third-party deductions, alleged interference with university autonomy and laws, and what it described as the declining condition of the academic profession.
“Unless immediate and concrete steps are taken to fully and comprehensively address issues bordering on 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 union also said that, apart from recent efforts by the Federal Ministry of Education to clear outstanding salaries owed by some Federal Universities of Agriculture, there had been no sustainable attempt to resolve its wider concerns.
ASUU said three and a half months remained unpaid out of the seven and a half months’ salaries withheld from its members during the Buhari administration.
While acknowledging President Bola Tinubu for releasing four months of the withheld salaries, the union said the outstanding balance continued to impose serious financial hardship on lecturers.
“Our members have endured enormous financial and psychological discomforts on account of the withheld income, which has suffered a devaluation of more than 50 per cent between 2022 and now,” ASUU said.
The union is also demanding the release of billions of naira in third-party deductions allegedly taken from lecturers’ salaries but not remitted to the relevant bodies.
The deductions include pension contributions, staff cooperative funds and ASUU check-off dues.
ASUU argued that the failure to remit the funds had caused financial losses to its members and suggested that the situation could be linked to its longstanding rejection of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS).
The union’s concerns are particularly pronounced in state-owned universities, where several branches have already embarked on strikes or issued ultimatums over the implementation of the 2025 agreement and other outstanding entitlements.
