ASUU threatens fresh nationwide strike, gives reason

NEWS UPDATE

THE Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has threatened to resume its suspended nationwide strike, accusing the Federal Government and some state governments of failing to honour the 2025 agreement reached with the union.

The union, in a statement signed by its National President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, on Friday, said it could activate the suspended industrial action without any further notice if its demands were not urgently addressed.

Piwuna said the decision followed an emergency meeting of the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) held on September 5, 2026, stressing that ASUU would not accept responsibility for the consequences of another strike if the government failed to act.

According to him, the implementation of the December 2025 Federal Government-ASUU agreement has been disappointing, despite the agreement being the product of more than eight years of struggle.

He listed the outstanding issues to include three-and-a-half months’ withheld salaries from the seven-and-a-half months withheld by the previous administration, unremitted pension and other third-party deductions, violation of university autonomy and the deteriorating welfare of academics.

“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,” he warned.

The union acknowledged recent efforts by the Federal Ministry of Education to settle outstanding salaries owed lecturers in some Federal Universities of Agriculture, but said there had been no sustainable solution to the wider crisis.

Piwuna said lecturers were still being forced into monthly battles with university authorities over uncertainty surrounding the payment of their salaries.

ASUU, however, commended governors who had commenced implementation of the 2025 agreement in their state-owned universities.

It singled out Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, for praise, saying he not only announced full adoption of the agreement but also apologised to the union over bureaucratic bottlenecks that delayed its implementation.

The union also listed Bauchi, Ekiti, Ogun, Benue, Yobe, Adamawa, Kebbi, Katsina and Borno among states where implementation had commenced.

It said governors in Kano, Edo, Plateau, Taraba, Gombe and Bayelsa had pledged to commence implementation in September or October.

The union, however, warned other governors against ignoring the agreement, saying their refusal to act could plunge state-owned universities into an industrial crisis of monumental proportions.

ASUU also took a swipe at Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke over his recent decision to extend the tenure of the Vice-Chancellor of Osun State University (UNIOSUN), Prof. Clement Adebooye, by two years.

Adeleke had announced the extension at the inauguration of the university’s reconstituted Governing Council on September 1, 2026.

ASUU described the action as unacceptable, arguing that the UNIOSUN law provides for a single five-year tenure for the vice-chancellor, with no provision for extension.

The union accused the governor of hurriedly amending the law to accommodate the extension, warning that the development could undermine the gains of the Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2012, which was designed to prevent controversies surrounding tenure extensions for vice-chancellors.

It also criticised Adebooye for accepting the extension, noting that he had previously served as a branch secretary of ASUU at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.

The union urged him to reconsider his position before the expiration of his legally valid tenure in January 2027.

On the withheld salaries, ASUU said the three-and-a-half-month balance remained unpaid despite repeated appeals.

While acknowledging President Bola Tinubu for paying four months out of the seven-and-a-half months withheld by the previous administration, it said the outstanding balance had subjected lecturers to severe financial and psychological hardship.

The union also alleged that billions of naira deducted from lecturers’ salaries for pension contributions, cooperative societies and ASUU check-off dues had not been remitted for several months. “Failure to resolve the issue could further trigger industrial action,” it said.

ASUU further expressed concern that government attention was shifting towards the 2027 elections following the lifting of the ban on electioneering campaigns.

The union said economic growth figures being celebrated by government had yet to translate into improved living standards for Nigerians.

It thus backed the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President, Joe Ajaero, on the call for an immediate review of the national minimum wage, urging the government to index wages to inflation to protect workers’ purchasing power.

ASUU appealed to students, parents, labour leaders, media practitioners and other Nigerians to prevail on the government to resolve the brewing crisis.

It stressed that it could not guarantee an uninterrupted academic calendar at the expense of the existential needs of university lecturers.

“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,” Piwuna said.

He added that although the union remained open to negotiations with both federal and state governments, Nigerians should not blame ASUU if it was forced to resume its suspended strike.