ASUU Accuses FG of Failing to Honour Agreement, Warns of Possible Disruption
ASUU has warned that the fragile peace in Nigerian public universities may be threatened due to the Federal Government’s delay in fully implementing its 2025 agreement with the union. The Lagos Zone coordinator, Prof. Adesola Nassir, said lecturers are increasingly frustrated over unpaid allowances, withheld salaries, and the slow integration of agreed salary components such as CATA, EAA, and Professorial Allowances into the official salary structure.
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ASUU Warns of Looming Crisis as Federal Government Delays University Agreement Implementation
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has raised concerns over what it described as the Federal Government’s failure to fully implement agreements reached with the union, warning that the fragile peace currently enjoyed in Nigerian public universities could soon collapse.
Speaking during a press briefing on Wednesday, the Zonal Coordinator of ASUU Lagos Zone, Prof. Adesola Nassir, said university lecturers across the country are becoming increasingly frustrated over delayed payments, unfulfilled promises, and what the union perceives as government indifference toward the welfare of academic staff.
The union also dismissed claims made by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, that the government had fulfilled all ASUU demands and that there was no basis for another strike action.
According to Prof. Nassir, several months after the signing of the 2025 Federal Government/ASUU agreement, many of the critical components of the deal remain unimplemented. He explained that lecturers nationwide are particularly agitated over unpaid withheld salaries, allowances, and the failure to fully integrate approved benefits into salary structures.
Among the key issues highlighted were the Consolidated Academic Tool Allowances (CATA), Earned Academic Allowances (EAA), and Professorial Allowances (PA), which were expected to be fully incorporated into the Consolidated Academic Staff Salary Scale (CONUASS) beginning January 2026.
However, Nassir argued that recent developments have strengthened suspicions within the union that the government may have been more interested in gaining political goodwill through the signing ceremony than genuinely resolving the lingering issues affecting the university system.
While ASUU acknowledged the Federal Government’s directive encouraging university administrations to temporarily implement the salary adjustments pending the passage of the 2026 budget, the union criticized the process as poorly coordinated and financially inadequate.
According to the union, many universities were not provided with sufficient funding to cover the additional salary obligations, resulting in uneven and inconsistent implementation across institutions.
Prof. Nassir expressed concern that the government has yet to demonstrate the commitment or financial readiness required to reimburse universities that had already used internal resources to offset the shortfalls.
The union further accused some state governments of ignoring the agreement despite the participation of their representatives during negotiations that led to the deal.
He warned that the continued refusal by several state-owned universities to implement the agreement could trigger industrial unrest across campuses.
Despite these concerns, Nassir noted that a few institutions had already begun implementing aspects of the agreement. He listed Olabisi Onabanjo University, Tai Solarin University of Education, Ekiti State University, and Osun State University among the schools that had complied.
ASUU also called on the Lagos State Government to urgently intervene and commence implementation of the agreement in its state-owned institutions, including Lagos State University (LASU), Lagos State University of Science and Technology (LASUSTECH), and Lagos State University of Education (LASUED).
The union urged Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to act swiftly to prevent growing dissatisfaction among lecturers in the state.
“Our members across the country have been briefed on the status of our engagement with the government,” Nassir stated. “The frustration among lecturers is real, and the government’s continued failure to honor its obligations is putting industrial harmony in serious danger.”
He added that the seven universities under the ASUU Lagos Zone remain fully aligned with the national leadership of the union regarding any future decisions taken on the matter.
With tensions rising once again between lecturers and government authorities, stakeholders within the education sector fear that unresolved issues may push Nigerian universities back into another cycle of industrial actions if urgent steps are not taken.
