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•Gives ultimatum, condemns extension of UNIOSUN VC’s tenure
From Fred Ezeh, Abuja and Lateef Dada, Osogbo
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has threatened to resume its suspended nationwide strike, accusing the Federal Government and some state governments of failing to honour the 2025 agreement reached with the union.
The union, in a statement signed by its National President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, on Friday, said it could activate the suspended industrial action without any further notice if its demands were not urgently addressed.
Piwuna said the decision followed an emergency meeting of the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) held on September 5, 2026, stressing that ASUU would not accept responsibility for the consequences of another strike if government failed to act.
According to him, the implementation of the December 2025 Federal Government-ASUU agreement has been disappointing, despite the agreement being the product of more than eight years of struggle.
He listed the outstanding issues to include three-and-a-half months’ withheld salaries from the seven-and-a-half months withheld by the previous administration, unremitted pension and other third-party deductions, violation of university autonomy and the deteriorating welfare of academics.
“Unless immediate and concrete steps are taken to fully and comprehensively address issues bordering on the welfare and well-being of Nigerian academics, ASUU-NEC will not accept any blame for calling out its members on a nationwide strike action within the shortest time possible,” he warned.
The union acknowledged recent efforts by the Federal Ministry of Education to settle outstanding salaries owed lecturers in some Federal Universities of Agriculture, but said there had been no sustainable solution to the wider crisis.
Piwuna said lecturers were still being forced into monthly battles with university authorities over uncertainty surrounding the payment of their salaries.
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ASUU, however, commended governors who had commenced implementation of the 2025 agreement in their state-owned universities.
It singled out Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, for praise, saying he not only announced full adoption of the agreement but also apologised to the union over bureaucratic bottlenecks that delayed its implementation.
The union also listed Bauchi, Ekiti, Ogun, Benue, Yobe, Adamawa, Kebbi, Katsina and Borno among states where implementation had commenced.
It said governors in Kano, Edo, Plateau, Taraba, Gombe and Bayelsa had pledged to commence implementation in September or October.
The union, however, warned other governors against ignoring the agreement, saying their refusal to act could plunge state-owned universities into industrial crisis of monumental proportions.
ASUU also took a swipe at Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke over his recent decision to extend the tenure of the Vice-Chancellor of Osun State University (UNIOSUN), Prof. Clement Adebooye, by two years.
Adeleke had announced the extension at the inauguration of the university’s reconstituted Governing Council on September 1, 2026.
ASUU described the action as unacceptable, arguing that the UNIOSUN law provides for a single five-year tenure for the vice-chancellor with no provision for extension.
