The Academic Staff Union of Universities has warned of possible fresh industrial action, accusing the Federal Government of failing to fully implement the 2025 FG/ASUU Agreement just months after it was signed.
The ASUU Abuja Zone said contrary to claims by the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, that the agreement had been fully implemented, lecturers are still facing unpaid allowances, salary shortfalls, pension issues, and other unresolved welfare concerns.
Speaking at a press briefing in Keffi on Monday, the Zonal Coordinator, Adamu Al-Abdullahi, said the government’s failure to properly implement the agreement could once again plunge universities into crisis.
“It is exactly five months since the fanfare that accompanied the signing of the FG/ASUU Agreement after a protracted negotiation spanning eight years. However, the claim that the FG has fully implemented the agreement is far from the realities on ground in federal universities.”
He accused the government of failing to set up the Implementation Monitoring Committee meant to ensure proper execution of the agreement, alleging that implementation has been left to individual universities in a disjointed manner.
“The FG has left it to individual universities to implement in a distorted and uncoordinated manner,” he said.
ASUU also alleged that university managements are selectively paying approved allowances such as the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance, Earned Academic Allowance and Professorial Allowance.
The union further faulted some state governments for failing to uphold parts of the agreement despite being part of the negotiation process.
It also listed unresolved issues including salary arrears, promotion backlogs, withheld wages from the 2022 strike, pension deductions, and unremitted third-party payments.
“We want to sound this clear, no country can progress when the welfare issues of academics are left unattended,” Abdullahi warned.
He criticised the continued application of the “No Work, No Pay” policy, arguing that lecturers still engaged in academic duties such as research even during strike periods.
“Withholding salaries of university lecturers on account of ‘no work, no pay’ is like reducing scholars to menial workers whose livelihood is anchored in physical appearances at their worksite,” he said.
ASUU also raised concerns over irregularities in university governance, including questionable appointments and the emergence of titles such as “Professor of Practice” and “Diaspora Professors”, which it said bypass due academic procedures.
The union warned that unless urgent steps are taken, industrial harmony in the university system could be threatened once again.
