ASUU Threatens Fresh Strike Over Distorted Implementation of 2025 Agreement
By Emmanuel Kwada
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has warned of a possible new wave of industrial action in Nigerian public universities if the Federal and state governments fail to fully implement the December 2025 agreement signed with the union.
In a strongly worded statement issued on Monday by its President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, ASUU expressed deep dissatisfaction with what it described as the “distorted and uncoordinated” rollout of the agreement.
Delegation from the Ministry of Education and ASUU during the ASUU/Federal Government agreement signing
The union’s National Executive Council (NEC) reached the resolution during its meeting held at Modibbo Adama University, Yola in Adamawa State, on May 9 and 10, 2026.
The 2025 FGN-ASUU agreement, which took effect on January 1, 2026, was expected to resolve long-standing issues bordering on welfare, university funding, and autonomy. A major highlight was a 40 per cent upward review of academic staff remuneration.
However, ASUU said the initial momentum generated after the public unveiling of the agreement on January 14, 2026, is fading rapidly due to poor implementation.
“The momentum generated with the unveiling of the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement… is fast waning and may soon be lost if the government’s promise to fully implement the agreement is not kept,” the union stated.
No country can progress when the welfare issues of its academics are left unattended
The union accused the Federal Government of failing to inaugurate the Implementation Monitoring Committee needed to protect the agreement from bureaucratic bottlenecks.
It also criticised federal university administrators for selectively implementing certain allowances instead of integrating them into the Consolidated Academic Staff Salary Scale. Most state governments, it added, have largely ignored the agreement.
ASUU highlighted several unresolved welfare issues, including arrears of the 25-35 per cent salary award, promotion arrears, unremitted deductions, salary shortfalls from IPPIS, and the withheld three-and-a-half months’ salaries from the 2022 strike.
“No country can progress when the welfare issues of its academics are left unattended,” the union said, warning that growing frustration among lecturers could lead to renewed industrial unrest.
The union further criticised several recent government education policies, including the reversal of the mother-tongue policy in early childhood education, plans to establish a Coventry University campus in Nigeria, compulsory enrolment in the Nigeria Education Repository Databank, and the proposed scrapping of some university courses.
R-L, Speaker, House of Representatives, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila, Minister of State for Labour, Festus Keyamo, Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajuba, Ag. Chairman, National Salaries Incomes & wages Commission, Ekpo Nta, Comrade Emmanuel Osodeke & ASUU President, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi at a meeting with the leadership of the House of Reps over the ongoing warning strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities at the National Assembly on Thursday 12th March, 2020.
ASUU called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to personally intervene to address the lingering issues and douse rising tensions on campuses.
It also announced plans to convene an emergency NEC meeting in the coming weeks to review developments and decide on the next line of action.
This latest threat comes barely a month after the Minister of Education, Prof. Tunji Alausa, declared that the era of strikes in Nigerian tertiary institutions was “permanently over” and assured parents and students that universities would remain open for all academic sessions.
The development has once again raised concerns about the stability of the nation’s university system, which has suffered prolonged disruptions in the past due to recurring ASUU strikes.
Author
Sign up for The Insight Newsletter
Get in-depth, research and data-based interpretative reports from around Nigeria.
