The Academic Staff Union of Universities has threatened another nationwide strike over unpaid salaries, allowances and the incomplete implementation of the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU agreement. The union accused some state governments of failing to honour commitments made during negotiations, and warned that continued delays could disrupt academic activities across public universities.
The union's Kano Zone put the situation in blunt terms. "While the Federal Government has begun implementing some key aspects of the agreement in most federal universities, none of the state-owned universities within the zone has domesticated or implemented the agreement," ASUU said.
The union's demands cover unpaid allowances, promotion arrears, salary-related issues and delays in remitting deductions made from lecturers' earnings. It also renewed its demand for the payment of outstanding withheld salaries from a previous industrial action, insisting that lecturers continued academic activities before and after the strike period.
ASUU leaders accused affected governments of delaying the implementation of agreed welfare packages. They warned that unresolved welfare issues were contributing to the migration of experienced academics from Nigerian universities, and that continued delays could worsen brain drain in the education sector.
The threat follows a pattern. In July, ASUU raised concerns over the partial implementation of the 2025 agreement, with different zones of the union threatening industrial action if outstanding issues were not resolved.
The union said some government authorities failed to honour commitments made under the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU agreement, despite being represented during negotiations that led to the deal. That point matters: the state governments that have not implemented the agreement were in the room when it was signed.
The union's position is that the agreement is not optional. It is a binding document, and the governments that negotiated it are expected to fund it. The failure to do so, in ASUU's view, leaves the union with little choice but to mobilise its members for another round of industrial action.
The potential strike would affect public universities across Nigeria. The union's various zones have reported similar issues, with the Kano Zone specifically noting that several state-owned universities had yet to implement key parts of the agreement, including allowances and other welfare provisions.
The withheld salaries issue is a particular sticking point. These are payments from a previous strike that lecturers say are still owed to them. The union insists that lecturers continued academic activities before and after the strike period, and that the withholding of salaries during that time was unjustified.
The brain drain warning adds a longer-term concern. Nigerian universities have lost a number of experienced academics to other countries in recent years, and the union argues that unresolved welfare issues accelerate that trend. Lecturers who are not paid on time, or who see their allowances withheld, are more likely to seek positions elsewhere.
The union urged relevant authorities to address the outstanding demands and prevent another disruption to academic activities in Nigerian public universities. That is the immediate ask. Whether the authorities respond before the union moves to a strike call remains to be seen.
ASUU has used the threat of industrial action before. The union has a history of strikes over pay and working conditions, and the current dispute follows that pattern. The question now is whether the affected governments will act on the 2025 agreement before the union's patience runs out.
According to Pulse.ng.
