The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has warned that it may resume its suspended industrial action without further notice if the Federal and state governments fail to resolve outstanding issues surrounding the implementation of their December 2025 agreement.
The union, however, has not announced a specific date for a fresh nationwide strike.
The warning followed an emergency meeting of ASUU’s National Executive Council (NEC), held on September 5, 2026, at the union’s national secretariat in the University of Abuja.
According to the union, frustration among its members has intensified due to what it described as the poor and inconsistent implementation of the agreement, unresolved withheld salaries, unremitted deductions, threats to university autonomy and concerns over the welfare of lecturers.
ASUU President, Prof. Christopher Piwuna, said the union had raised concerns in August but had yet to see a comprehensive and sustainable response from the government.
He noted that apart from recent efforts by the Federal Ministry of Education to pay outstanding salaries owed to staff of Federal Universities of Agriculture, there had been no coordinated action to address the union’s concerns.
The December 2025 agreement was considered a major breakthrough following years of negotiations and repeated university closures. ASUU said the agreement came after more than eight years of struggle, but expressed disappointment that its implementation had remained uneven across the country.
The union acknowledged progress in some states, commending Abia State Governor Alex Otti for announcing the adoption of the agreement and apologising for bureaucratic delays.
It also listed Bauchi, Ekiti, Ogun, Benue, Yobe, Adamawa, Kebbi, Katsina and Borno among states where implementation had commenced.
Meanwhile, Kano, Edo, Plateau, Taraba, Gombe and Bayelsa were said to have pledged to begin implementation in September or October.
ASUU warned that governors who continue to delay compliance could trigger industrial crises in state-owned universities, adding that affected institutions had already been notified of possible strike action where progress remained unsatisfactory.
Withheld Salaries Remain Major Concern
One of the union’s most contentious demands is the payment of the remaining portion of lecturers’ withheld salaries from the 2022 strike.
ASUU said its members were still owed three-and-a-half months out of the seven-and-a-half months withheld under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Although the union acknowledged that President Bola Tinubu’s administration had released four months of the withheld salaries, it insisted that the outstanding balance remained a serious source of hardship and resentment among lecturers.
The union argued that the value of the unpaid salaries had significantly declined due to inflation and the naira’s reduced purchasing power, leaving affected academics under financial and psychological pressure.
Billions In Unremitted Deductions
ASUU also raised concerns over the alleged non-remittance of deductions from lecturers’ salaries, including pension contributions, cooperative funds and union check-off dues.
The union claimed that the deductions, which run into billions of naira, had remained unremitted for several months.
It described the situation as a double financial burden on its members, who are unable to access the funds while also losing possible investment returns.
ASUU further alleged that the issue could be connected to its opposition to the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), warning that it was prepared to mobilise members if the matter was not resolved.
University Autonomy Dispute
The union’s concerns also extend to university governance and autonomy, particularly the relationship between governing councils, state governments and vice-chancellors.
ASUU criticised the Osun State Government over the decision to extend the tenure of the Vice-Chancellor of Osun State University, Prof. Clement Adebooye, by two years.
Governor Ademola Adeleke announced on September 1 that Adebooye’s tenure would be extended from January 2027 to January 2029.
The union argued that the university’s governing law provides for a single five-year tenure and does not allow such an extension. It accused the state government of rushing through a legal amendment to accommodate the decision.
ASUU also expressed disappointment with Adebooye, who previously served as a branch secretary of the union at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, for accepting the extension.
The dispute has further intensified concerns about the protection of university autonomy and compliance with existing laws governing public universities.
For now, ASUU’s latest position does not amount to a declaration of a fresh nationwide strike. However, the union’s NEC resolution has placed the government and university authorities on notice that the suspended action could be reactivated if the outstanding issues are not urgently addressed.
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