The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has issued a fresh warning that it may shut down public universities nationwide if the Federal Government and state governments fail to urgently address unresolved issues involving lecturers’ salaries, deductions and the implementation of the 2025 agreement.

 Politics Nigeria reports that the union said it could activate its suspended strike “without any further notice”, raising the prospect of another disruption to academic activities in public universities.

ASUU disclosed this in a statement signed by its National President, Prof. Christopher Piwuna, following an emergency meeting of its National Executive Council held on September 5, 2026, at the Festus Iyayi National Secretariat Complex, University of Abuja.

The union said the failure of the authorities to fully implement the December 2025 agreement, settle outstanding withheld salaries and remit billions of naira deducted from lecturers’ earnings had created fresh tension within the university system.

According to ASUU, lecturers are still owed three-and-a-half months out of the seven-and-a-half months’ salaries withheld during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Although four months of the outstanding salaries had been paid by the current administration, the union said the unpaid balance had lost more than half of its value since 2022 because of naira devaluation and inflation.

“We state for the umpteenth time that the lecturers have done the work for which they are being punished. They did it at huge cost to their physical and psycho-social well-being,” the union said.

ASUU added that some lecturers had died while others were now battling serious health challenges, insisting that the withheld salaries should be paid without further delay.

The union also accused the government of failing to remit deductions made from lecturers’ salaries for pension contributions, cooperative societies and ASUU check-off dues.

It said the unremitted deductions, which it claimed amounted to billions of naira, had subjected its members to a double financial loss because they had been denied both access to the funds and the investment returns that could have accrued from them.

ASUU further alleged that the non-remittance could be connected to lecturers’ rejection of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System.

“ASUU-NEC is fully prepared to call out its members if nothing concrete is done to address this lingering problem without further delay,” the union warned.

The union also faulted what it described as the “non- or haphazard implementation” of the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement by federal and state governments.

While acknowledging recent efforts by the Federal Ministry of Education to clear salary arrears owed workers in federal universities of agriculture, ASUU said wider concerns affecting academic staff remained unresolved.

It said uncertainty over salary payments had persisted in some institutions, with lecturers allegedly forced to engage vice-chancellors over delayed or incomplete payments.

ASUU, however, commended Abia State  Governor, Alex Otti, for publicly announcing the full adoption of the 2025 agreement and apologising to the union over bureaucratic bottlenecks that had caused delays and distortions.

The union also said implementation had commenced in Bauchi, Ekiti, Ogun, Benue, Yobe, Adamawa, Kebbi, Katsina and Borno states.

It listed Kano, Edo, Plateau, Taraba, Gombe and Bayelsa among states that had pledged to begin implementation in September or October.

ASUU warned governors who had yet to implement the agreement that continued inaction could trigger what it called an “industrial crisis of monumental proportions.”

It added that affected university authorities had been informed of the possibility of strike action unless satisfactory progress was made.Join Diaspora Networks

The union also criticised Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, over the extension of the tenure of the Vice-Chancellor of Osun State University, Prof. Clement Adegbooye.

Adeleke had announced on September 1 that Adegbooye’s tenure, originally scheduled to end in January 2027, had been extended by two years to January 2029.

ASUU rejected the decision, arguing that the law governing the appointment provided for a single five-year tenure without extension.

It accused the governor of hurriedly amending the law to accommodate the extension and warned that the move could undermine university autonomy and create a precedent for political interference in the administration of state-owned universities.

The union also faulted Adegbooye for accepting the extension, recalling his previous involvement with ASUU as a branch secretary at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.

It urged him to reconsider the decision before January 2027 and said it would challenge the extension if it was not reversed.

ASUU also criticised the economic policies of the Federal and state governments, arguing that claims of macroeconomic growth had yet to translate into better living conditions for Nigerians.

The union pointed to declining purchasing power, rising living costs and inadequate access to healthcare, education, electricity, potable water and roads, describing the situation as “growth without development.”

It further backed the call by Nigeria Labour Congress President, Joe Ajaero, for an immediate review of the national minimum wage.

ASUU advocated linking the minimum wage to inflation to protect workers from erosion of their purchasing power and create an automatic mechanism for wage adjustments as the cost of living rises.

The union said its warning of a fresh strike was not aimed at deliberately disrupting the academic calendar, but reflected what it described as an existential threat to the welfare of its members.

It appealed to students, parents, labour leaders, media practitioners and other Nigerians to pressure the government into resolving the issues before they escalate.