ASUU threatens industrial action over non-implementation of newly signed agreement

The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, had assured that the implementation of the agreement, signed in December, would begin unfailingly in January.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has warned that Nigerian universities may witness another round of industrial unrest over what it described as the federal government’s distorted implementation of the December 2025 agreement signed with the union.

The warning was contained in a statement issued after the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held at the Modibbo Adama University between 9 and 10 May.

In the statement signed by ASUU President, Christopher Piwuna, a professor, the union accused the government of failing to inaugurate the Implementation Monitoring Committee (IMC), which it said was designed to ensure the smooth execution of the agreement and prevent bureaucratic bottlenecks.

ASUU therefore appealed to President Bola Tinubu to urgently intervene and address welfare concerns to prevent the collapse of the “fragile industrial peace” on campuses.

The latest warning comes weeks after ASUU raised concerns over the delayed implementation of the 2025 agreement signed with the federal government. The union had earlier accused the government of failing to mainstream earned academic allowances and other agreed benefits into lecturers’ salaries despite assurances that the provisions were captured in the 2026 budget.

In the last two months, the University of Lagos, University of Jos and the Ahmadu Bello University chapters of the union have embarked on brief industrial actions over the non-implementation of the agreement and delayed salaries.

The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, had assured that the implementation of the agreement, signed in December, would begin unfailingly in January.

Distorted implementation of the agreement

But ASUU said the agreement was being implemented “in a distorted and uncoordinated manner,” with federal universities allegedly cherry-picking components of the approved allowances to pay.

The union noted that some vice-chancellors were selectively implementing components of the agreement, including the Consolidated Academic Tool Allowances (CATA), Earned Academic Allowances (EAA), and Professorial Allowances (PA), instead of integrating them into the Consolidated Academic Staff Salary Scale (CONUASS) as agreed.

ASUU said some state governors have also “turned their back” on the agreement, even though the representatives of the governing councils actively participated in the negotiations.

“ASUU will stop at nothing to ensure that all our members fully benefit from the modest gains of the eight-year-long negotiation (2017-2025),” the union said.

Demands

ASUU also listed unresolved welfare issues affecting lecturers, including the non-payment of the 25–35 per cent salary award arrears, promotion arrears, withheld salaries from the 2022 strike action, salary shortfalls linked to the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), and unremitted third-party deductions.

The union said the continued withholding of three-and-a-half months’ salaries from the 2022 strike amounted to punishing academics, despite universities having stabilised their academic calendars in recent years.

It also accused authorities of neglecting retired lecturers, alleging that pension arrears in several state universities had accumulated for years while the National Pension Commission (PenCom) delayed harmonisation of retirees’ benefits.