Fresh ASUU Strike Looms As Lecturers Protest Unpaid Salaries And Arrears

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has warned that it may resume its suspended nationwide strike without further notice if the Federal Government and state governments fail to address outstanding issues affecting university lecturers.

According to Bush Radio Academy, the union issued the warning following an emergency meeting of its National Executive Council in Abuja, where members reviewed the level of implementation of the December 2025 agreement and other unresolved welfare concerns.

ASUU President, Christopher Piwuna, said the agreement, which followed years of negotiations between the union and the government, remained only partially implemented by the Federal Government and several state governments.

The union particularly expressed concern over the payment of withheld salaries, unremitted deductions from lecturers’ earnings and other outstanding components of the agreement.

ASUU acknowledged that the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had paid four months out of the 7.5 months’ salaries withheld from its members during the previous administration. However, the union insisted that the remaining 3.5 months must also be paid.

The lecturers’ union also raised concerns over billions of naira deducted from members’ salaries as pension contributions, cooperative payments and check-off dues, which it said had not been remitted to the appropriate bodies.

According to ASUU, the continued withholding of salaries and failure to remit the deductions, alongside the incomplete implementation of the 2025 agreement, were creating growing tension within the university system.

The union warned that it would not accept responsibility if the unresolved issues eventually led to another nationwide industrial action.

ASUU also acknowledged state governments that had commenced implementation of the agreement, including Abia, Bauchi, Ekiti, Ogun, Benue, Yobe, Adamawa, Kebbi, Katsina and Borno states.

The union disclosed that Kano, Edo, Plateau, Taraba, Gombe and Bayelsa states had indicated plans to begin implementation between September and October.

However, ASUU urged other state governments to act quickly and prevent their universities from being drawn into what it described as a serious industrial crisis.

The union called on the Federal Government and affected state governments to urgently resolve the outstanding issues, warning that its suspended strike could be reactivated without another notice if meaningful progress was not made.

The latest warning comes amid a series of industrial disputes involving ASUU branches across the country. Some university chapters have already taken or threatened strike action over unpaid salaries and other outstanding entitlements.

ASUU maintained that immediate and comprehensive action was required to protect the welfare of academic staff and prevent another disruption to activities in Nigeria’s public universities.