The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has threatened to resume its suspended strike, warning that it could shut down public universities without further notice if the Federal Government and state governments fail to address outstanding issues affecting lecturers.
The warning followed 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, Professor Christopher Piwuna, and released on Friday, the union said the government’s failure to fully implement the December 2025 agreement, pay withheld salaries and remit billions of naira deducted from lecturers’ earnings was creating another crisis in the university system.
ASUU said it could no longer guarantee uninterrupted academic activities while the welfare and professional wellbeing of its members remained under pressure.
The union said lecturers were still owed three-and-a-half months out of the seven-and-a-half months’ salaries withheld during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to ASUU, the current administration has paid four months of the withheld salaries, but the remaining balance has lost more than 50 per cent of its value since 2022 because of naira devaluation and inflation.
The union also raised concerns over the non-remittance of deductions made from lecturers’ salaries for pension contributions, staff cooperative societies and ASUU check-off dues.
It said the outstanding third-party deductions amounted to billions of naira and had caused financial losses for its members, who were denied access to the funds as well as possible investment returns.
ASUU said it was prepared to mobilise its members for strike action if the issues were not resolved promptly.
ASUU Raises Concern Over 2025 Agreement
The union also criticised what it described as the “non- or haphazard implementation” of the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement by federal and state governments.
It acknowledged recent efforts by the Federal Ministry of Education to clear salary arrears owed workers in federal universities of agriculture, but said the measures had not resolved the wider challenges facing academics.
ASUU said some lecturers continued to face uncertainty over salary payments and had reportedly been forced to engage their vice-chancellors over delayed salaries.
The union commended Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, for publicly announcing the full adoption of the 2025 FGN-ASUU agreement and apologising over bureaucratic delays that affected its implementation.
It also listed Bauchi, Ekiti, Ogun, Benue, Yobe, Adamawa, Kebbi, Katsina and Borno states as states where implementation of the agreement had commenced.
According to the union, Kano, Edo, Plateau, Taraba, Gombe and Bayelsa states have pledged to begin implementation in September or October.
ASUU warned governors who were yet to implement the agreement that continued inaction could trigger what it described as an “industrial crisis of monumental proportions.”
The union said affected university authorities had already been informed that strike action could begin in their institutions if satisfactory progress was not recorded.
Adeleke, UNIOSUN Vice-Chancellor Tenure Extension Draws ASUU’s Anger
ASUU also criticised Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, over the two-year extension granted to the Vice-Chancellor of Osun State University, UNIOSUN, Professor Clement Adegbooye.
Governor Adeleke announced on September 1 that Adegbooye’s tenure would be extended from January 2027 to January 2029 during the inauguration of the university’s reconstituted Governing Council.
ASUU described the decision as unacceptable, arguing that the law governing the appointment provides for a single five-year tenure without an extension.
The union alleged that the law was hurriedly amended to accommodate the extension and warned that the move could undermine university autonomy and create a precedent for other state-owned universities.
It also criticised Adegbooye for accepting the extension, noting his previous role as an ASUU branch secretary at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.
The union called on the vice-chancellor to reconsider the decision before January 2027, when it said his legally recognised tenure would expire.
ASUU said it would challenge the extension if attempts to reverse the decision were unsuccessful.
Union Rejects Government’s Economic Claims
ASUU also accused the Federal and state governments of shifting attention towards the 2027 general elections following the lifting of the ban on electioneering campaigns on August 19.
The union rejected government claims of macroeconomic improvement, arguing that economic growth had not translated into better living conditions for Nigerians.
It pointed to declining purchasing power and rising costs, alongside what it described as inadequate access to healthcare, education, electricity, potable water and roads.
ASUU further backed the call by Nigeria Labour Congress President, Joe Ajaero, for an immediate review of the national minimum wage.
The union said workers’ incomes were no longer keeping pace with inflation and proposed that the minimum wage should be indexed to inflation to help protect purchasing power as living costs rise.
ASUU Warns Against Another University Shutdown
The union said its latest warning was not intended to deliberately disrupt the academic calendar but was driven by concerns over the welfare of its members.
ASUU appealed to students, parents, labour leaders, media practitioners and other Nigerians to urge the government to resolve the issues before the situation worsens.
The union maintained that the incomplete implementation of the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement, together with the continued withholding of salary arrears and third-party deductions, could threaten industrial peace in public universities.
ASUU said its NEC had resolved that the union may activate its suspended strike without further notice if the issues raised were not urgently addressed.
Source: Vanguard
