Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities has warned the Federal Government against the selective implementation of the agreement reached with university-based unions in January 2026, threatening industrial action if the government fails to honour all aspects of the deal that ended months of industrial disruption in the university system.
The warning was issued on Thursday, October 1, 2026, in a statement signed by the National President of SSANU, Comrade Mohammed Haruna Ibrahim, and the National Secretary, Comrade Abdussobur Salaam, following a meeting of the association's National Executive Council in Abuja. The association said it had reviewed the implementation of the agreement and concluded that the government had been selective in discharging its obligations, implementing the provisions that were convenient while leaving others unaddressed. "The Federal Government cannot pick and choose which parts of the agreement to implement. An agreement is a whole. Selective implementation is a breach, and we will not accept it," the statement read. The association said it had given the government until the end of October to demonstrate good faith by implementing all outstanding provisions or face industrial action.
The January 2026 agreement, signed by the Federal Government with the Academic Staff Union of Universities, SSANU, the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions, and the National Association of Academic Technologists, brought an end to a protracted dispute over the implementation of the 2009 agreements on service conditions for university staff. The agreement included a 40 per cent upward review of the emoluments of university academic staff, a new Professorial Cadre Allowance providing a monthly top-up of over N140,000 for professors and N70,000 for readers, and a mandatory three-year review cycle to prevent the stagnation that had characterised previous agreements. It also exempted federal tertiary institutions from the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, allowing universities to process their own payrolls and enhancing their autonomy.
SSANU's specific grievances centre on what it describes as the differential treatment of academic and non-academic staff in the implementation of the agreement. The association said the government had implemented the 40 per cent salary increase for academic staff while delaying its application to non-academic staff, despite the agreement covering all university-based unions. The association also said the government had failed to release the arrears of the new salary structure for its members, dating back to January 2026, leaving thousands of workers without the full benefits they were promised. It further alleged that the government had not addressed the issue of the non-payment of earned allowances, which had been a recurring source of dispute in the university system for years. "Our members have waited patiently. They have seen their academic colleagues receive their arrears while they are told to wait. This is unacceptable," the association said.
The warning comes amid a broader climate of industrial tension in Nigeria. The Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council began a three-day warning strike on October 2, 2026, over the failure of the Federal Government to address its demands on petrol prices, a wage award and the commencement of negotiations for a new national minimum wage. The Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria have also declared an indefinite strike scheduled to commence on October 3, 2026, citing the prevailing hardship caused by the removal of petrol subsidy. The Federal Government has urged the labour centres to refrain from actions capable of undermining a subsisting court order following a National Industrial Court ruling in June 2026 restraining the NLC and TUC from embarking on strike action.
The university unions have also been active. In September 2026, ASUU threatened a fresh nationwide strike over unpaid salaries and the non-implementation of the 2025 agreement. The union acknowledged that the Tinubu administration had paid four of the 7.5 months of salaries withheld during the Buhari administration but demanded the immediate release of the outstanding 3.5 months. ASUU also raised concerns over the non-implementation of the newly signed agreement, particularly the 40 per cent salary increase, which it said had been delayed by universities. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar seized on the renewed strike threat to question the government's claims, asking the Tinubu administration to account for the money it said it saved from subsidy removal to fund education and other services. Atiku said the renewed threat of an ASUU strike had exposed what he described as a contradiction between the government's claims of increased revenues and the condition of the country's public universities.
The government has consistently maintained that it remains committed to the full implementation of the January 2026 agreement. In August 2026, the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation announced that the government had commenced the implementation of the ASUU agreements on salary increase and consolidated tools allowance, reaffirming Tinubu's commitment to the well-being of academic staff and the stability of the university system. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Protocol, Issah Niniola, said in September 2026 that Tinubu had laid a solid foundation to permanently end strikes by lecturers in tertiary institutions, citing the NELFUND student loan scheme and the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement as evidence of the administration's commitment. The government has not issued a direct response to SSANU's latest statement.
For Nigerian university students and their families, the prospect of another round of industrial action is a source of deep anxiety. The years of disruption caused by strikes have delayed graduations, strained family finances and eroded confidence in the public university system. The January 2026 agreement was presented as a permanent solution to the cycle of strikes, but the current dispute over its implementation suggests that the underlying tensions remain unresolved. The coming weeks will determine whether SSANU's threat materialises into industrial action or whether the government moves quickly to address the association's grievances. As SSANU put it, an agreement is a whole, and selective implementation is a breach that will not be accepted.
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