The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has commenced a nationwide indefinite strike following the delay in the payment of June 2025 salaries to its members. The industrial action is in line with the union’s long-standing “no pay, no work” resolution, which was reaffirmed by its National Executive Council (NEC).
ASUU President, Professor Chris Piwuna, confirmed the development on Monday in Abuja, stating that lecturers were left with no option but to suspend academic activities due to repeated salary delays. According to him, “What they are doing is just enforcing a NEC resolution. We have agreed at NEC that our members are going through a lot since our migration out of the Integrated Personnel Payroll and Information System.”
He explained that salaries are now often delayed by a week or more, even though the amount lecturers receive is already modest. “Certainly, our salaries are delayed for a week and sometimes 10 days before our members receive the paltry amount we get to help us carry out our duties well. Therefore, we agreed that if there is no pay, there will be no work,” he added.
Professor Piwuna accused government officials of ignoring the plight of university lecturers, saying the problem began after the transition from IPPIS to the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS). He emphasized that the salary payment platform itself is not the issue, but rather, deliberate inaction by the Office of the Accountant General. “So, the platform through which the payment is effected has not been the problem. It’s just a deliberate effort by the Office of the Accountant General to delay the release of the funds. The platform is working well, but those who make it work are not willing to make it work. We think it’s a deliberate act; that is the point we are making,” he said.
Efforts to resolve the situation through meetings with the Minister of Education and other key officials have failed to produce results. “We want to work, but we cannot because they have not allowed us to work,” he said, reiterating the union’s frustration with the continued delays.
The ASUU President also brought up the issue of outstanding Earned Academic Allowances (EAA), saying that while the government promised to release N50 billion, only N40 billion was paid. “On the EAA you talked about, the total amount was N50 billion, and what they gave to us is N40 billion. N10 billion is still outstanding. We hope that this is paid quickly so that we do not have to fight over it,” he said.
In compliance with the NEC directive, the University of Jos branch of ASUU has also withdrawn its services. The branch chairman, Jurbe Molwus, confirmed that members voted in support of the action following the non-payment of their June salaries. The directive allows ASUU branches to stop work if salaries are not paid within three days of a new month.
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