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The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has threatened to call off the suspended nationwide strike “without further notice” unless the federal and state governments urgently address outstanding issues impacting university lecturers.
The union in a statement on Friday titled, ‘Why ASUU May Go on Strike Again,’ signed by its President, Prof. Christopher Piwuna, warns that poor implementation of the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU Agreement, unpaid salaries and unpaid third party cuts are pushing Nigeria’s public universities towards another industrial crisis.
ASUU said an emergency meeting of the National Executive Council held on September 5, 2026, resolved to inform the government and other stakeholders that the union may call its members on strike at the shortest possible time.
“Unless immediate and concrete steps are taken to fully and comprehensively address the issues limiting the well-being and well-being of Nigerian academics, ASUU-NEC will not accept any blame for calling its members on national strike action within the shortest possible time,” the union said.
The union said three-and-a-half months of salaries out of the seven-and-a-half months cut under the Buhari administration were still unpaid, despite admitting that President Bola Tinubu had given him four months off.
It said that unpaid salaries had caused “enormous financial and psychological discomfort” for lecturers, adding that retained earnings had lost more than 50 percent of their value due to devaluation since 2022.
The union also alleged that billions of naira deducted from lecturers’ salaries for pension contributions, staff cooperatives and union dues have not been properly deposited for several months.
It warned that it was “fully prepared” to recall its members if no concrete action was taken to resolve the issue of cuts.
ASUU also targeted state governments over the implementation of the 2025 agreement, commending the Governor of Abia State, Alex Otti, and states such as Bauchi, Ekiti, Ogun, Benue, Yobe, Adamawa, Kebbi, Katsina and Borno for starting its implementation.
It said Kano, Edo, Plateau, Taraba, Gombe and Bayelsa had pledged to begin implementation in September or October 2026, while warning other governors not to let their universities slide into a “huge industrial crisis.”
The union also condemned the reported two-year term extension granted to the Vice-Chancellor of Osun State University, Prof. Clement Adebooye, by Governor Ademola Adeleke.
ASUU argued that the university law provides for a single five-year term for vice-chancellors and accused the governor of setting a bad precedent by hastily changing the law to accommodate the extension.
The union warned that the development could reignite hatred, sycophancy and administrative witch-hunt within the university system.
ASUU further criticized the Federal Government’s handling of the broader economic situation, arguing that the reported macroeconomic growth had not resulted in better living conditions for Nigerians.
They supported the Nigerian Labor Congress President Joe Ajaero’s call for an immediate review of the national minimum wage, saying that workers’ purchasing power required protection through wage indexation against inflation.
The union called on students, parents, media practitioners, labor leaders and other Nigerians to intervene in the “ongoing crisis” before it escalates.
“ASUU cannot guarantee that the academic calendar will not be disrupted at the expense of the existential needs of our members,” he said.
The union said the door remains open for dialogue with the federal and state governments, but warned Nigerians not to blame ASUU if they are forced to resume the suspended strike due to the government’s failure to provide a satisfactory response to their demands.
“ASUU-NEC decided to inform all interested parties that the union may activate the suspended strike action without further notice if the critical issues raised in this release are not immediately addressed,” the statement said.
