IBADAN – The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has warned that Nigeria’s public universities may be plunged into another round of industrial crisis if the Federal Government fails to fully implement the agreement reached with the union in December 2025.
The union raised the alarm on Thursday, accusing the Federal Government of reneging on key aspects of the pact five months after it was signed, despite repeated appeals and sustained efforts by the union to maintain industrial peace in the nation’s tertiary institutions.
Speaking during a press conference held at the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, the Ibadan Zone Coordinator of ASUU, Dr Biodun Olaniran, said the continued delay in implementing the agreement was stretching the patience of university lecturers to its limit and could spark fresh unrest across campuses.
Olaniran lamented that while some financial commitments, including the Consolidated Academic Tool Allowance (CATA) and Professorial Allowance, had only been partially implemented, several critical components of the agreement remained unattended to.
According to him, reports received from universities within the Ibadan Zone indicated either partial implementation or complete neglect of agreed provisions by both federal and state authorities.
“It is unfortunate to note that five months after signing the agreement, reports from our universities, both federal and state-owned, indicate either partial or outright non-implementation of the agreement. This glaring lack of respect for the product of collective bargaining is stretching the patience of our union to the limit,” he said.
The ASUU Ibadan Zone comprises the University of Ibadan, University of Ilorin, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Osun State University, Kwara State University and Emmanuel Alayande University of Education.
Despite mounting frustrations, ASUU said it had deliberately sustained academic activities in universities in the interest of students and national stability, warning however that the government’s continued inaction could jeopardise industrial harmony in the education sector.
The union further faulted the Federal Government for allegedly failing to inaugurate the Implementation Monitoring Committee expected to supervise and ensure compliance with the agreement.
ASUU listed several unresolved issues, including unpaid Earned Academic Allowance (EAA), withheld salaries from the 2022 strike period, promotion arrears, unremitted third-party deductions, and outstanding 25 percent and 35 percent wage award arrears.
The lecturers described the continued withholding of salaries and deductions as unjust, especially considering the role of academics in teaching, research and manpower development in the country.
The union also expressed concern over the welfare of retired academics, revealing that many retired professors in state-owned universities were yet to access their pension benefits.
ASUU consequently called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the National Assembly and relevant stakeholders to urgently intervene and forestall another disruption in the university system.
Beyond welfare concerns, the union criticised several education policy proposals of the Federal Government, including plans to promote the use of English Language in early childhood education instead of indigenous languages.
It also opposed the proposed Transnational Education framework expected to pave the way for the establishment of a Nigerian campus of coventry.ac.uk arguing that such initiatives require broader consultation.
ASUU equally criticised the proposed Nigeria Education Repository Databank (NERD), warning that compelling students to upload project reports before mobilisation for the National Youth Service Corps could expose them to intellectual property theft and data privacy violations.
The union further condemned what it described as increasing political interference in the appointment of vice-chancellors and principal officers in Nigerian universities.
It also criticised an alleged move by the Niger State Government to reclaim the Bosso campus of the Federal University of Technology, Minna, warning that such action could undermine collaboration between federal and state governments in expanding access to university education.
On the broader state of the nation, ASUU decried worsening insecurity, rising inflation, economic hardship and mounting public debt, citing the recent abduction of teachers and pupils in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State as evidence of deepening insecurity in the South-West.
The union also criticised the removal of fuel subsidy without adequate social support measures, arguing that ordinary Nigerians were bearing the burden of spiralling transportation costs and inflation.
ASUU urged both federal and state governments to strengthen welfare programmes to cushion the economic hardship faced by citizens, while reiterating its readiness to continue dialogue with authorities.
However, the union warned that growing frustration among academics over unresolved issues could ultimately trigger another nationwide industrial action if urgent steps are not taken to address its grievances.
