By Sofiat Adenekan-Abdul
The Academic Staff Union of Universities has warned that Nigeria’s public universities may be heading toward another industrial crisis if the Federal Government and state governments fail to fully implement the 2025 agreement reached with the union.
The warning followed the union’s National Executive Council meeting held at Modibbo Adama University on May 9 and 10, 2026.
In a statement issued on Monday, ASUU President, Chris Piwuna, expresses concern over what the union described as the “distorted and uncoordinated” implementation of the agreement signed with the Federal Government in December 2025.
According to the union, the optimism that followed the unveiling of the agreement in January 2026 is fading due to delays and inconsistencies in implementation.
“The momentum generated with the unveiling of the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement on January 14, 2026, is fast waning and may soon be lost if government’s promise to fully implement the agreement is not kept,” the statement read.
ASUU said one of its major concerns is the failure to inaugurate the Implementation Monitoring Committee, which was expected to oversee compliance with the agreement across federal and state institutions.
The union accused several state governments of failing to honour commitments despite participating in the negotiation process. It also alleged that some federal university authorities were selectively implementing parts of the agreement, particularly allowances relating to academic staff.
According to ASUU, components such as Consolidated Academic Allowances, Earned Academic Allowances and Professorial Allowances are being treated separately instead of being fully integrated into the Consolidated Academic Salary Structure as agreed.
The union reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that lecturers benefit from the outcomes of the prolonged negotiation process that lasted from 2017 to 2025.
ASUU also criticised the Federal Government’s proposed National Research Council and the planned National Research and Innovation Development Fund announced by the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa.
The union argued that the proposal falls short of the provisions contained in the 2025 agreement, which recommends allocating at least one per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product to research, innovation and development.
The latest warning comes months after the Federal Government assured Nigerians that strikes in tertiary institutions had become a thing of the past.
ASUU’s renewed concerns, however, signal growing tension within the university system and raise fears of possible disruptions to the academic calendar if unresolved issues persist.
