Academic activities across Nigerian universities face fresh uncertainty, with members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) staging nationwide protests and leaving students unattended to.
The protest has further raised fears of another prolonged strike in the country’s higher education system.
The demonstrations, held simultaneously in several states, saw lecturers carrying placards and chanting solidarity songs. They demanded that the federal government address lingering issues of unpaid salaries, withheld allowances, and inadequate funding for public universities.
ASUU leaders accused the government of being insensitive to the plight of lecturers and students, warning that the protests were a prelude to possible industrial action if urgent steps were not taken.
In Abuja, lecturers marched around the university gates, demanding the release of outstanding earned academic allowances and revitalisation funds. Similar protests also occurred in Lagos, Akure, Jos, and other university towns.
Speaking during the protest, Dr. Sylvanus Ugoh, chairman of the ASUU, Yakubu Gowon University chapter, said the action was to draw attention to the hardship faced by academic staff across the country.
He lamented that lecturers had remained on the same salary structure since 2009, despite repeated promises of review every three years. According to him, the 2009 agreement, which should have been renegotiated in 2012, was only revisited in 2017 and concluded in February 2025 under the Elijah Yayale Ahmed-led committee.
“Since that report was submitted, we have not heard anything from the federal government. Today, it is becoming increasingly difficult for our members to cope. All over the nation, you hear of the deaths of academic staff, many of which are stress-related,” Ugoh said.
Earlier, the zonal coordinator of ASUU Akure Zone, Professor Adeola Egbedokun, expressed concern at the federal government’s alleged failure to attend to the union’s demands since President Bola Tinubu assumed office two years ago.
At a press conference at the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, Egbedokun said the government’s inaction had stretched lecturers’ patience to breaking point.
He listed ASUU’s demands to include implementation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement, sustainable funding of universities, revitalisation of infrastructure, payment of outstanding salary arrears, stagnated promotions, unremitted third-party deductions, and an end to the victimisation of members in some institutions.
“We will fight back, and the consequences would be damning except the government takes a decisive step to attend to our requests urgently. While we take note of the government’s planned meeting of August 28, 2025, let it be clear that the clock is ticking,” he said.
He warned that ASUU’s National Executive Committee had resolved that all options remain on the table. He urged well-meaning Nigerians, the National Assembly, and traditional rulers to intervene before the situation degenerates.
At Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, lecturers suspended scheduled examinations as part of the protest. Professors, associate professors, and senior lecturers marched along major routes carrying placards with inscriptions such as: “Our salaries are too poor,” “Pay us sustainable living salaries,” and “We are FG lecturers, not borrowers.”
240 Colleagues Die Yearly, Nasarawa Lecturers Cry Out
The Federal University of Lafia branch of the ASUU (FULAFIA ASUU) has raised an alarm over an upsurge in the death rate of lecturers across the campuses of public universities.
FULAFIA ASUU said more than 240 academics died yearly because of the lackadaisical attitude of the federal government to issues relating to their welfare.
The branch chairperson, Dr. Sunday Orinya, said that due to he rising cost of living in the country, an average academic finds it difficult to meet basic needs.
He spoke at the end of a peaceful protest by branch members in Lafia on Tuesday, during which they demanded improved service conditions and welfare packages.
Lecturers stuck on same salary for 16 years
Branch chairperson Prof Opeyemi Olajide lamented that federal university lecturers had been on a fixed salary for over 16 years without an increment despite worsening economic realities. He accused the government of neglecting infrastructure and refusing to complete the renegotiated 2009 agreement.
Dr Nwachukwu Anyim, former ASUU chairperson of the branch, criticised the government’s plan to review salaries of political office holders while ignoring lecturers.
“If you expect university lecturers to earn the same salary for over 15 years and you are still imagining reviewing salaries of political office holders, that is wickedness of the highest order,” he said.
Minna lecturers reject FG’s ‘poisoned chalice’ loan scheme
At the Federal University of Technology, Minna, lecturers joined the protest with peaceful marches, while in Jos, ASUU members rejected the newly introduced Tertiary Institution Staff Support Fund loan scheme, describing it as a “poisoned chalice.”
University of Lagos and University of Benin lecturers also demanded payment of arrears, improved welfare, and renegotiation of the 2009 agreement.
In Zamfara, the Federal University, Gusau, branch chairman Abdulrahman Adamu led the protest. He lamented that lecturers still face unpaid salaries, wage arrears, and unremitted deductions.
Similarly, at the Federal University, Dutse, Jigawa State, ASUU members protested the non-payment of three months’ salary arrears, insisting that loans were not the solution but the fulfilment of the government’s obligations.
The union warned that the government’s refusal to conclude the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement and persistent neglect of lecturers’ welfare had pushed the system to the brink.
They reminded President Tinubu of his 2022 campaign pledge that university strikes would not occur under his watch, stressing that universities risk sliding back into another prolonged shutdown unless urgent action is taken.
For now, the protests serve as both a warning and a call for intervention from the National Assembly, stakeholders, and the general public to avert another crisis in Nigeria’s university system.
Strike disrupts UNIUYO exams
Expectedly, students have already become casualties of the lecturers’ industrial action. The ongoing semester examination at the University of Uyo (UNIUYO) has been truncated by the ASUU strike, forcing outcry by stranded students at both the town campus at Ikpa Road and the main campus, Nwaniba, Uyo, the state capital, on Tuesday.
The protesting academics, including professors and senior lecturers, marched on both campuses, displaying placards.
Addressing the protesters, the ASUU branch chairperson, Prof. Opeyemi Olajide, expressed dismay that the federal university lecturers in Nigeria have been on a fixed salary for over 16 years without any increase, despite the harsh economic realities.
‘We Are Tired Of FG Deceptions’
The Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) branch of ASUU has declared that it has no intention of embarking on strike or disrupting students’ academic activities, but warned that the federal government’s continued failure to meet its demands is an open invitation to strike.
Speaking during a peaceful protest on Tuesday, Dr. Haruna Angulu, chairperson of ASUU-ATBU, said the union remains committed to advancing the nation’s educational system and has no desire to disrupt academic activities.
Earned Academic Allowance Paltry – ASUU-PLASU
The Plateau State University chapter of the union, ASUU-PLASU, has frowned at the university administration’s unilateral decision to mainstream a paltry amount as earned academic allowance (EAA) into the salaries of the academic staff without reaching an agreement with the union.
Warning that the development could lead to industrial action if not addressed, the union explained that EAA is usually computed and paid at the end of an academic session based on the ratio of staff and students after teaching, assessment, and project supervision.
ASUU PLASU chapter chairman, Dr. Monday Hassan, and secretary, Dr. Lomka Iliya Kopdiya, stated this during a protest march by the union in Bokkos.
They explained that in 2021, following a strike, the Plateau State Government significantly increased the university’s monthly subvention to cater for EEA payments.
‘We’re Tired of Empty Rhetoric’
The ASUU chapter at Usman Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Sokoto State University, and Shehu Shagari University of Education, Sokoto, have issued a stern warning to the federal government, demanding concrete action to address the lingering issues affecting Nigerian universities.
The union’s threat comes as it embarked on a protest on Tuesday, urging the government to take proactive steps to meet its demands and avoid a nationwide strike.
Professor Nurudeen Almustapha, chairman of the Usman Danfodiyo University, Sokoto chapter, stressed the need for the government to honour the Yayale Ahmed report which was submitted in February 2025.
Rev. Sister, 7 Professors Lead Protest At Umudike Varsity
Led by a Reverend Sister and seven professors, the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State (MOUAU) chapter of the union joined the nationwide action, holding a peaceful protest within the university.
Addressing newsmen at the university’s gate, the chairperson, Prof. Michael Ugwuene, urged the federal government to act immediately on the union’s demands.
Professors Uzochukwu Onyebinama, Chukwuma Ofor, Okwulehe Ikechukwu, Chukwuma Ononuju, Mabel Onwuka, and Chinyere Echendu echoed Ugwuene’s comments.
NDU Lecturers Reject FG Loan Scheme
On their part, lecturers at the Bayelsa State-owned Niger Delta University (NDU), Wilberforce Island in Amassoma, have staged a peaceful protest against the newly introduced Federal Government Tertiary Institution Staff Support Fund loan scheme.
Under ASUU-NDU, the lecturers said the loan plan is a form of “generational bondage” for both lecturers and students, as they accused the federal government of tying the future of academics and their children to debts.
After an emergency meeting on Tuesday, the lecturers marched round the university campus carrying placards with inscriptions such as “Federal Government should sign 2009 renegotiated agreement,” “Release already budgeted funds for revitalisation of public universities,” and “Pay 25%, 35% wage awards.”
ASUU-NDU Chairman Comrade Lucky Bebeteidor Oyinkepreye said the protest was meant to remind the federal government of its unfulfilled promises and to reject the proposed loan scheme.
Academic Activities Disrupted In Ebonyi Varsity
Lecturers’ nationwide protest to demand the release of their three-and-a-half-month salaries withheld by the federal government has disrupted academic activities in Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike Ikwo (AE-FUNAI), Ebonyi State.
The Union also demanded the renegotiation and implementation of the 2009 ASUU and federal government agreement.
The lecturers, who trooped out in large numbers, were seen marching around the university’s two campuses, chanting solidarity songs and carrying placards with various inscriptions to press home their demand for improved service conditions.
The protest lasted for over four hours and was witnessed by a heavy presence of security personnel who escorted the protesters to ensure hoodlums did not hijack the peaceful protest and cause mayhem in the area.
Comrade Louis Omenyi, chairperson of ASUU AE-FUNAI, accused the federal government of paying lecturers obsolete and expired salaries and described this as unacceptable.
BUK Threatens Further Action Over Unmet Demands
ASUU members at the Bayero University, Kano (BUK) branch, joined their counterparts across the country to stage a peaceful protest over their unmet agreement with the federal government, dating back to 2022.
Speaking to reporters during the protest, ASUU-BUK Vice-Chairman Comrade Yusuf Madugu revealed that the negotiations were concluded in December 2024, but the government has yet to act on them.
He noted that only four of the 7.5 months of withheld salaries during the 2022 strike have been paid.
NAU Lecturers Protest Poor Salary
Lecturers of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra state, have protested over poor salary payments.
The protesters were led by the union chairperson, Innocent C. Nnubia, and the union’s zonal coordinator, Prof Dennis Aribodor.
The aggrieved lecturers marched through major roads in the university, carrying placards with various inscriptions.
They complained about their poor salaries and the dilapidation of the university’s infrastructure, warning that if their demands were not urgently addressed, they would have no choice but to boycott lecture halls and other academic works.
Addressing the Vice Chancellor’s representative, Prof Pius Okoye, the chairperson of the ASUU NAU, chronicled the union’s demands.
ASUU-UNN Ready For Nationwide Strike
The ASUU chapter at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) has expressed its members’ readiness to join the nationwide indefinite strike if the federal government fails to take the necessary action.
ASUU-UNN Chairman Comrade Oyibo Eze disclosed this while briefing newsmen in Nsukka on Tuesday, shortly after the union’s congress which was immediately followed by a protest rally by members.
‘Government Action ‘Wicked, Heartless’
The lecturers’ union at the Federal University of Technology, Akure, mobilised its members to protest against the neglect of Nigerian universities by the government.
Speaking with journalists, Prof. Pius Mogaji, chairman of ASUU, FUTA, said the government’s failure to address issues such as the renegotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement, sustainable funding of universities, and the plight of retired academic staff threatens the very foundation of higher education in Nigeria.
Implement agreement, not give us handouts
At the University of Maiduguri Chapter, protesting academics demanded improved salaries by fully implementing the renegotiated agreement—not handouts disguised as support.
Speaking during the protest on Tuesday in Maiduguri, the chairman of ASUU University of Maiduguri, Dr. Saidu Mshelia Mshelia, faulted the government’s six-month delay in acting on the Yayale Ahmed Committee Report, submitted in February 2025, describing it as bad faith and a violation of collective bargaining principles upheld by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
He insisted that the persistent sabotage of agreements had condemned lecturers to poverty amid rising inflation
“ASUU rejects this economic injustice and will resist any attempt to erode the integrity of Nigeria’s university system. Enough is enough,” he said.
Ibadan: ASUU Says Members Pushed To the Wall
On Tuesday, university lecturers, under the aegis of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) at the University of Ibadan (UI) and Emmanuel Alayande University of Education, Oyo, embarked on a peaceful awareness protest and rally against President Bola Tinubu’s Federal Government’s delay in signing renegotiated agreements with the Union.
The union maintained that only the signing of the agreement on August 28th, when the federal government team meets with the union, could avert another industrial strike in Nigeria’s public universities.
The chairman of the UI chapter of ASUU, Dr. Adefemi Afolabi, was joined by the chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress in Oyo State, Mr. Kayode Martins.
The protest at Emmanuel Alayande University of Education was led by its chairman, Dr. Michael Bamidele Ojo.
UNILORIN Lecturers Demand Implementation Of 2009 Agreement
ASUU members at the University of Ilorin chapter, yesterday also staged a peaceful rally to draw the nation’s attention to a looming crisis in “our university system” caused by the delayed implementation of agreements the federal government reached with ASUU since 2009.
The protesting lecturers wielded placards with inscriptions such as: “Honour and implement your agreement with ASUU,” “We demand improved facilities in our universities,” “University workers are not slaves,” and “Increase budgetary allocation for education.”
The chairman of the University of Ilorin ASUU, Dr. Alex Akanmu, said, “The general public is once again invited to prevail on the government to accede to all our demands to avert another disruption of academic calendars in our universities.”
