The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal and state governments to address outstanding issues surrounding the implementation of the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement, warning that lecturers in 20 universities may embark on strike when the ultimatum expires.
The decision has renewed fears of another disruption to academic activities in the nation’s public universities, barely months after the Federal Government and the union reached the agreement following years of negotiations.
ASUU took the decision at its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held at the University of Abuja on August 8 and 9, 2026.
The union’s President, Prof. Christopher Piwuna, disclosed this in a statement issued on Monday, saying the affected branches had been directed to commence preparations for industrial action should the outstanding issues remain unresolved after the 14-day ultimatum.
Piwuna said an emergency NEC meeting would be convened at the end of August or early September to assess developments and determine the union’s next line of action.
The universities affected are Nasarawa State University, Keffi; Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai; University of Medical Sciences, Ondo; Gombe State University; Plateau State University, Bokkos; Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba; Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma; Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa; Abia State University, Uturu; and University of Education and Entrepreneurship, Akamkpa.
Others are Emmanuel Alayande University of Education, Oyo; Kaduna State University; Kano State University of Science and Technology, Wudil; Northwest University, Kano; Enugu State University of Science and Technology; Imo State University; Niger Delta University; University of Africa, Toru-Orua; Bayelsa Medical University; and Taraba State University, Jalingo.
According to the union, the affected branches would commence strike action immediately after the expiration of the ultimatum if the issues were not resolved.
ASUU said its branches in the Sokoto Zone had already issued a two-week ultimatum to their respective authorities.
The union blamed the latest development on what it described as the “haphazard implementation” of the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement and the Federal Government’s “lackadaisical attitude” towards the release of the subvention required for its full implementation.
“NEC discussed the state of the struggle and noted that a significant milestone had been reached signing the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement, but frowned at the haphazard implementation and lackadaisical attitude of the Federal Government in the release of subvention to fully actualise the implementation of the said 2025 Agreement,” the union said.
ASUU also accused governing authorities of several state-owned universities of failing to implement provisions of the agreement, warning that such non-compliance was eroding the gains achieved through the negotiations.
The 2025 agreement, signed in December after more than 16 years of negotiations, was designed to address some of the longstanding grievances of university lecturers, including remuneration, research funding, staff welfare and the chronic underfunding of public universities.
A major provision of the agreement was a 40 per cent increase in academic staff remuneration, effective January 1, 2026. The Federal Government announced in February that implementation of the salary adjustment had commenced.
The pact also introduced the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance (CATA), designed to cover expenses associated with journal publications, membership of learned societies, conferences, internet access and books.
Under the agreement, professors are entitled to a Professorial Cadre Allowance of N1.74 million annually, equivalent to N145,000 monthly, while readers are to receive N840,000 annually, or N70,000 monthly.
The agreement further provided for a review of Earned Academic Allowances, including payments for postgraduate supervision and other academic responsibilities, alongside measures aimed at improving research, infrastructure, staff welfare and institutional development.
However, the implementation of the agreement has become a fresh source of friction between ASUU and the government.
The union has in recent months complained that implementation was uneven, with some universities allegedly paying only parts of the salary component while other provisions remained outstanding.
ASUU also expressed concern over delays in constituting the Implementation Monitoring Committee, which it said was essential to ensuring that bureaucratic bottlenecks did not frustrate the implementation of the agreement.
The latest ultimatum places the government and affected university authorities under renewed pressure to resolve the outstanding issues and avert another nationwide disruption of university education.
