The Academic Staff Union of Universities has warned that it may resume its suspended nationwide strike if the Federal Government and affected state governments fail to resolve outstanding issues concerning university lecturers.
The union said it could reactivate the industrial action without further notice over the incomplete implementation of the December 2025 agreement, the payment of the remaining 3.5 months of withheld salaries and the non-remittance of billions of naira deducted from lecturers’ earnings.
The warning was contained in a statement issued by ASUU President, Christopher Piwuna, on Friday, following an emergency meeting of the union’s National Executive Council at the University of Abuja.
According to the union, the December 2025 agreement was reached after more than eight years of negotiations and struggles, but its implementation remained incomplete at both federal and state levels.
ASUU warned that unless concrete measures were taken to address issues affecting the welfare of university academics, it could not be held responsible for any decision to withdraw its members from work.
“Unless immediate and concrete steps are taken to FULLY and COMPREHENSIVELY address issues bordering 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,” the union stated.
The union commended the Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, and the governments of Bauchi, Ekiti, Ogun, Benue, Yobe, Adamawa, Kebbi, Katsina and Borno for beginning the implementation of the agreement.
It added that Kano, Edo, Plateau, Taraba, Gombe and Bayelsa states had promised to commence implementation in September or October, while urging other state governments to act before their universities were plunged into a major industrial crisis.
On withheld salaries, ASUU noted that the administration of President Bola Tinubu had paid four of the 7.5 months of salaries withheld during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
However, it demanded immediate payment of the outstanding 3.5 months, arguing that the unpaid balance remained a major concern for affected lecturers.
The union also raised concerns over the alleged failure to remit pension contributions, cooperative deductions and union check-off dues amounting to billions of naira over several months.
ASUU said the combination of unpaid salaries, unremitted deductions and the incomplete implementation of the 2025 agreement was threatening industrial harmony in the nation’s public universities.
“In no mistaken terms, ASUU posits that the non- or haphazard implementation of the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement by federal and state governments is a recipe for industrial crisis in Nigeria’s public universities,” it said.
The union therefore urged the Federal Government and state governments to urgently resolve the outstanding issues, warning that it would not accept responsibility should the suspended strike be reactivated.
“ASUU-NEC resolved to notify all concerned that the Union may activate its suspended strike action without any further notice if the critical issues raised in this release are not speedily addressed,” the statement added.