The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has threatened to shut down public universities nationwide, warning that it may reactivate its suspended strike action “without any further notice” unless the Federal Government and state authorities address lingering welfare demands and honor the 2025 agreement.
The resolution was reached following an emergency meeting of the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) held on September 5, 2026, at the Festus Iyayi National Secretariat Complex, University of Abuja.
In a statement signed by ASUU National President Prof. Christopher Piwuna, the union attributed the renewed industrial tension to the non-implementation of the December 2025 agreement, unpaid withheld salaries, and unremitted salary deductions.
According to ASUU, academic staff are still owed three-and-a-half months of salaries withheld during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, despite a four-month partial clearance by the current administration. The union noted that the economic value of these arrears has eroded by over 50 percent due to currency devaluation and inflation.
“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 statement read. “Some lost their lives in the process and many are now managing life-threatening ailments. For healing and restoration in the Nigerian University System, we think the withheld salaries of lecturers should be released without further delay.”
ASUU also raised concerns over unremitted third-party deductions amounting to billions of naira, covering pension contributions, staff cooperative funds, and union check-off dues. The union linked the withholding of these funds to its continued opposition to the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS).
“ASUU-NEC is fully prepared to call out its members if nothing concrete is done to address this lingering problem without further delay,” the union added.
Regarding the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement, ASUU expressed dissatisfaction over inconsistent execution across federal and state levels, though it acknowledged recent interventions by the Federal Ministry of Education to resolve salary arrears at federal universities of agriculture.
The union commended Abia State Governor Alex Otti for adopting the 2025 agreement and addressing administrative delays. It also cited implementation progress in Bauchi, Ekiti, Ogun, Benue, Yobe, Adamawa, Kebbi, Katsina, and Borno states, with commitment pledges recorded from Kano, Edo, Plateau, Taraba, Gombe, and Bayelsa states.
However, ASUU warned non-compliant state governors that failure to implement the agreement would result in localized industrial actions across affected state-owned universities.
