ASUU Threatens Nationwide Strike Over Unmet 2025 Agreement
POLITICS DIGEST — The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has threatened a nationwide strike over alleged unremitted deductions from its members’ pay and the “haphazard” implementation of the 2025 agreement signed with the federal government.
In a statement issued on Friday, Chris Piwuna, ASUU president, said the decision was taken at an emergency meeting of the union’s national executive council (NEC) held at the University of Abuja on Saturday.
Piwuna accused the federal and state governments of failing to fully implement the December 2025 FGN-ASUU agreement.
“Except for recent attempts by the Federal Ministry of Education to defray outstanding salaries for Federal Universities of Agriculture, there have been no concerted efforts to address our concerns and worries on a sustainable basis,” he said.
“Each month, lecturers have been forced to be dagger-drawn with their Vice-Chancellors over uncertainty of when and what part of their salaries would be paid.
“This time, the union’s message to the nation is clear: Unless immediate and concrete steps are taken to FULLY and COMPREHENSIVELY address issues bordering on the welfare and well-being of Nigerian academics, ASUU-NEC will not accept any blame for calling out its members on a nationwide strike action within the shortest time possible.”
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Piwuna said some state governments, including Abia, Bauchi, Ekiti, Ogun, Benue, Yobe, Adamawa, Kebbi, Katsina and Borno, had commenced implementing the 2025 agreement, while others had pledged to begin implementation in September or October.
The ASUU president expressed disappointment that three-and-a-half months’ salaries remained unpaid out of the seven-and-a-half months withheld during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
We have consistently acknowledged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for paying four (4) of the withheld salaries. However, leaving out the unpaid balance does not give his government the full credit of a labour-friendly administration,” Piwuna said.
He said the withheld salaries had caused ASUU members “enormous financial and psychological discomfort”, adding that the value of the income had fallen significantly since 2022.
“For healing and restoration in the Nigerian University System (NUS), we think the withheld salaries of lecturers should be released without further delay,” he said.
Piwuna raised concerns over deductions for pension contributions, staff cooperative societies and ASUU check-off dues, which have allegedly not been remitted appropriately for several months.
He claimed that the withholding of the money could be linked to ASUU members’ rejection of the integrated personnel and payroll information system (IPPIS).
Piwuna added that the union would not “watch helplessly” as bureaucratic delays continued to undermine the academic profession and universities.
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