ASUU Raises Fresh Strike Threat, Accuses FG of Betraying University Pact

• ASUU says the Federal Government has failed to honour key provisions of the 2025 agreement, leaving lecturers without outstanding withheld salaries, wage awards and promotion arrears.

• The union directs branches in more than 20 public universities to begin processes for industrial action, warning that continued delays could trigger widespread disruptions.

• ASUU rejects alleged victimisation of lecturers, condemns irregular conversion of non-academic staff to academic positions and faults TETFund’s controversial university classification policy.

• Beyond university campuses, the union warns that worsening insecurity, political violence, corruption and economic hardship are pushing Nigeria towards a dangerous national crisis ahead of the 2027 elections.

August 14, () — Nigeria’s public universities may once again be on the brink of widespread industrial unrest after the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) accused the Federal Government of reneging on the implementation of the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement and authorised branches in affected institutions to begin processes leading to industrial action.

The union, which met at its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held at the University of Abuja on August 8 and 9, declared that the Federal Government had failed to fulfil critical financial and welfare obligations contained in the agreement, despite repeated appeals by the union.

In a six-page communiqué titled “Nigerian Universities and Nigeria Today: Our Worries, Our Propositions,” signed by ASUU National President, Prof. Christopher G. Piwuna, the union on Friday warned that government inaction was fueling frustration among academics and threatening the fragile industrial peace currently existing in the nation’s public universities.

ASUU said the Federal Government had yet to pay the outstanding balance of lecturers’ withheld salaries from the 2022 nationwide strike, delayed payment of the 25/35 per cent wage award, promotion arrears and other outstanding entitlements.

While acknowledging President Bola Tinubu’s earlier approval of payment for part of the withheld salaries inherited from the previous administration, the union insisted that the remaining balance had been abandoned.

According to ASUU, failure to settle the outstanding obligations has eroded confidence among lecturers and undermined the goodwill created by the signing of the December 2025 agreement.

The union urged both the Federal Government and affected state governments to immediately release all outstanding payments to prevent another nationwide industrial crisis.

Over 20 Universities Cleared for Industrial Action

ASUU disclosed that NEC had approved several branches facing implementation failures to commence varying degrees of industrial action after complying with internal procedures and statutory notice requirements.

The affected institutions include Nasarawa State University, Keffi; Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai; University of Medical Sciences, Ondo; Gombe State University; Plateau State University; Adekunle Ajasin University; Ambrose Alli University; Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology; Abia State University; University of Education and Entrepreneurship, Akamkpa; Kaduna State University; Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology; Northwest University Kano; Enugu State University of Science and Technology; Imo State University; Niger Delta University; University of Africa, Toru-Orua; Bayelsa Medical University; Taraba State University and others.

The union also announced that an emergency NEC meeting would be convened in the coming weeks to review the implementation of the agreement and determine the next phase of action should governments fail to address the outstanding issues.

ASUU further condemned what it described as persistent victimisation of its members in some universities, insisting it would not tolerate intimidation of union leaders or lecturers demanding implementation of negotiated agreements.

The union also criticised delays by the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation in releasing funds for salaries, promotion arrears and pension remittances.

ASUU Warns of Fresh Strike Over Delayed Implementation of 2025 Agreement

Union Rejects Staff Conversion, Faults TETFund Policy

Beyond welfare issues, ASUU condemned the increasing conversion of non-academic personnel into academic staff without following due recruitment procedures.

The union alleged that some university administrators were promoting registrars, bursars and other senior administrative officials into academic positions through questionable processes, warning that the practice threatens academic standards and the integrity of university education.

It called on vice-chancellors and the National Universities Commission to ensure that recruitment into the academic cadre remains transparent, competitive and merit-driven.

ASUU also criticised TETFund’s policy of classifying institutions into “tenable” and “non-tenable” universities for sponsorship under its Academic Staff Training and Development programme, describing the policy as discriminatory and outside the agency’s statutory responsibilities.

According to the union, the classification could weaken less-established public universities, reduce enrolment and discourage experienced academics from remaining in those institutions.

Political Class Blamed for National Decline

The union extended its concerns beyond the university system, warning that Nigeria’s worsening political atmosphere poses a grave threat to national stability.

ASUU said rising insecurity, political killings, corruption, procurement abuses, economic hardship and deepening poverty had combined to create widespread anxiety as the country heads towards the 2027 general elections.

It argued that the political class has become the greatest threat to national security, warning that winner-takes-all Politics and increasing violence could plunge the country into deeper instability if left unchecked.

The union also questioned claims that solar energy projects had been successfully deployed across 15 Nigerian universities, alleging that many of the installations were either incomplete, non-functional or had suffered repeated breakdowns.

ASUU further lamented declining budgetary allocations to education, saying chronic underfunding has weakened infrastructure, research, innovation and human capital development.

Calling for urgent reforms, the union urged governments at all levels to place education, agriculture, industrial production, transparency and social protection at the centre of national development while reducing dependence on borrowing and policies that worsen poverty.

The latest warning comes barely months after the Federal Government and ASUU signed the December 2025 agreement aimed at ending years of industrial disputes over lecturers’ welfare, university funding and institutional reforms.

The agreement, which took effect from January 2026, was expected to restore stability across federal and state universities. However, implementation has remained contentious, with several university branches already commencing strikes or issuing ultimatums over unpaid salaries and delayed execution of the agreement, raising fears of another nationwide disruption in Nigeria’s public university system.