Published by Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Rising from its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held on May 9 and 10, 2026, at Modibbo Adama University, Yola, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) issued what amounts to a final warning. In a statement read by ASUU President, Professor Christopher Piwuna, the union said the momentum generated by the unveiling of the 2025 Federal Government–ASUU Agreement on January 14, 2026, was “fast waning and may soon be lost” if the government fails to keep its promises. The union accused both federal and state authorities of cherry‑picking the parts of the agreement they wish to honour, while deliberately ignoring the most critical welfare and funding provisions. “The increasing frustration occasioned by the seeming government’s disinterestedness in the welfare of Nigerian academics is brewing a pent‑up anger which could erupt into a new wave of industrial unrest if not addressed,” the union declared.
At the heart of the impasse is the failure to inaugurate the Implementation Monitoring Committee (IMC), a body specifically designed to ensure the faithful execution of the 2025 deal and to prevent bureaucratic sabotage. According to ASUU, the absence of this committee has allowed both federal and state administrations to implement the agreement in a “distorted and uncoordinated manner”. Only a handful of state governments have complied with the terms, while some vice‑chancellors are allegedly “picking and choosing what to pay” – a piecemeal approach that has led to the selective payment of allowances such as the Consolidated Academic Tool Allowances (CATA), Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) and Professorial Allowances (PA), all of which the union insists should have been mainstreamed into lecturers’ salary packages.
Beyond the flawed implementation of the 2025 agreement, ASUU listed a litany of unresolved welfare issues that have been festering for years. Topping the list are the three‑and‑a‑half months of salaries withheld from lecturers following the 2022 ASUU strike, promotion arrears that in some cases date back to 2017, salary shortfalls arising from the dysfunctional Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), unremitted third‑party deductions, and arrears of the 25‑35 per cent wage award that the government promised to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal. The union also decried the plight of retired lecturers, particularly in state universities, where many are owed years of pension arrears, while pension harmonisation processes have allegedly been stalled, leaving ageing scholars to languish in poverty after decades of service.
The timing of the threat is particularly damaging for the government. Earlier this year, Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, had grandly declared the era of strikes in Nigerian tertiary institutions “permanently over”, assuring parents, students and the general public that universities and polytechnics would remain open for all academic sessions. Just five months later, the minister’s declaration appears hollow, as the union’s warning signals that the peace brokered in January is crumbling under the weight of government inaction. ASUU has now directed that an emergency meeting of its NEC be convened in the “next few weeks” to review the situation and take appropriate action, which could include a return to the nationwide strikes that have become a recurring nightmare for Nigerian students and their families.
In a blistering critique of the government’s overall approach to university funding, ASUU also took aim at several recently announced education policies. The union rejected the proposed Transnational Education (TNE) framework that would establish a campus of Coventry University in Nigeria, describing the move as “neo‑colonial” and a dangerous step towards the recolonisation of the country’s education sector. It questioned why the government cannot focus on making Nigeria’s own universities globally competitive enough to attract foreign students and scholars, rather than surrendering educational space to foreign institutions. The union also faulted the minister’s decision to reverse the mother‑tongue policy in early childhood education in favour of English language instruction, insisting the move contradicts global research and international best practices.
On research funding, ASUU expressed strong reservations about the government’s proposed National Research and Innovation Development Fund, which it said diverges from the research funding framework captured in the 2025 agreement. The union demanded “at least 1 per cent of GDP” as funding for research, innovation and development, as originally agreed, and challenged the proposed $500 million funding model, warning against attempts to derail Nigeria’s research agenda and raising concerns about possible external borrowing that could saddle the nation with more debt.
The union also condemned several other policies, including the compulsory enrolment of academics into the Nigeria Education Repository Databank (NERD), which it said could violate digital privacy rights and undermine academic freedom. It also opposed plans to scrap some university courses described as “irrelevant”, arguing that the humanities and social science programmes remain essential for national development, critical thinking and the production of a well‑rounded citizenry. On governance, ASUU alleged “irregular appointments and financial mismanagement” in universities, practices it said were undermining the credibility of the nation’s higher education system.
As anxiety mounts across the academic community, ASUU appealed to “all genuine patriots, well‑meaning Nigerians and lovers of Nigeria” to prevail on state and federal governments to fully implement the new agreement and resolve other outstanding issues in the interest of parents, students and the nation at large. At the same time, the union left the door open for dialogue, stating that its doors remain open for working with the government. However, the directive to call an emergency NEC meeting within weeks suggests that patience is running thin. Should the government fail to act decisively, Nigerian students and their parents may once again face the prospect of prolonged academic disruption, lost semesters and the all‑too‑familiar lament of a nation whose educational system cannibalises its own future.
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