Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Three Lagos State-owned universities may be plunged into another round of industrial crisis as the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Lagos Zone, has warned that the institutions could be shut down over the Lagos State Government's failure to implement the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU Agreement.
The warning affects Lagos State University (LASU), Lagos State University of Education (LASUED), and Lagos State University of Science and Technology (LASUSTECH), with ASUU declaring its readiness to support any action taken by its branches in the three institutions to compel the government to honour the agreement.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday at LASUSTECH, the Lagos Zone Coordinator of ASUU, Adesola Nassir, accused the state government of neglecting lecturers' welfare by refusing to implement the agreement six months after its signing, despite sustained engagements with government officials. He questioned the government's position, saying: "How can a government demand world-class university rankings while failing to create world-class conditions for academic work? How can excellence flourish where welfare remains uncertain? How can innovation thrive amid recurring industrial tension?"
The union argued that Lagos, which prides itself on being the "Centre of Excellence," should not lag behind other states that have already begun implementing the agreement. "No government can legitimately claim excellence while the intellectual workforce responsible for producing excellence experiences prolonged uncertainty over agreed welfare commitments," Nassir said.
According to ASUU, the continued delay had left lecturers feeling neglected, undervalued, and increasingly uncertain about the government's commitment to their welfare. The union warned that the situation has already begun to affect staff morale and could ultimately result in declining academic standards, institutional instability, and disruption of academic calendars.
"Where staff begins to feel despondent, as is now the case at LASU, LASUSTECH and LASUED, management of the system becomes problematic and this triggers institutional decline… inclusive of staff apathy, ethical drift, reduced graduate quality and eventually disruption in academic calendar," Nassir stated.
The union also expressed concern over unresolved internal disputes at LASU and LASUED, including the dismissal of ASUU officials and the alleged victimisation of its branch chairperson at LASUED. The Lagos zone of ASUU had earlier demanded that the Lagos State Government address the matter of five ASUU executive members sacked at LASU and put their ten-year travails to rest, recalling them with their rights and privileges.
ASUU warned that the Lagos State Government would be held responsible if the universities were forced to embark on industrial action. "Government, not ASUU, should be held responsible if all universities belonging to Lagos State are thrown into avoidable crises or totally shut down on account of poor response of the Government to the concerns of our members," Nassir declared.
The union urged Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to intervene urgently by concluding discussions with ASUU branches in the affected universities and implementing the 2025 agreement without further delay to avert what it described as a brewing unrest across Lagos State-owned universities.
The 2025 agreement, signed after eight years of negotiation, covers arrears of salaries and various academic allowances, including the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance (CATA), Professional Secretariat Administrative Allowance (SAA), and Earned Academic Allowance (EAA). While the Federal Government has begun implementing key aspects of the agreement in federal universities, several state governments have been slow to domesticate it. ASUU has previously noted that several state-owned universities across the country, including Sa'adu Zungur University, Ekiti State University, Osun State University, Benue State University, Sokoto State University, and Shehu Shagari University of Education, have already adopted and implemented the agreement.
The Lagos zone of ASUU has also expressed concerns about outstanding welfare matters that instigated the last strike action, including payment of arrears of the 25-35 per cent salary award, arrears of promotion, remittances of third-party deductions, check-off dues, cooperative society deductions, pension contributions, salary shortfalls arising from IPPIS application, and the withheld three-and-a-half months' salaries occasioned by the 2022 industrial action of ASUU.
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