The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has instructed its members across the country to initiate a nationwide strike due to the delayed payment of salaries for June 2025.
The union’s leadership has confirmed that a directive has been issued for all branches to withdraw their services because of this delay, in line with their “No Pay, No Work” resolution.
ASUU branches at two federal universities, the University of Jos and the University of Abuja, have already begun their strike actions in compliance with this directive.
Professor Chris Piwuna, President of ASUU, stated to Tribune Online on Monday in Abuja that the actions taken by the institutions are simply enforcing a resolution from the National Executive Council (NEC) of the union. This resolution dictates that if salaries are delayed beyond three days, members should cease work until the salaries are paid.
Piwuna expressed concern over the indifferent attitude of government officials regarding professors’ salaries, which he described as inadequate. He noted that since the migration of university workers from the Integrated Personnel Payroll and Information System (IPPIS) to the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), union members have faced considerable challenges due to salary delays.
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He said: “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. 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,” Piwuna said.
Regarding whether other universities are joining the strike action, the ASUU President stated that all institutions that have not received their payments are expected to withdraw their services.
He emphasized that this was the resolution made at the NEC and the only effective way to address the issue, which he noted is being deliberately caused by certain government officials, particularly at the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation.
He said any institution that has not been paid will join the action because “we are tired of talking about this.”
“We have spoken to the relevant authorities—the minister is aware, the Office of the Accountant General is aware. All those concerned are aware that this thing has been happening. We’ve had meetings with them to express our dissatisfaction with the way our salaries are being paid, and they have not taken any action. We want to work, but we cannot because they have not allowed us to work,” he stated.
Piwuna maintained that the government has no genuine reason for the delay in salary payments because the platform used for payments has no issues.
According to him, when the money finally gets to the universities, nobody has complained of being underpaid or not receiving their salary.
“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,” the ASUU President added.
He, however, noted that the issue of salary delays is the immediate challenge facing union members and warned that the outstanding N10 billion Earned Academic Allowance (EAA) should be released promptly by the government to avoid another round of struggle.
He noted that the Federal Government was supposed to pay lecturers N50 billion in outstanding EAA but only released N40 billion, leaving a balance of N10 billion.
“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,” the ASUU President said.
Chairman of the University of Jos branch of ASUU, Jurbe Molwus, had announced the withdrawal of services by members of the union at the university, citing the delay in the payment of their June 2025 salaries.
Molwus said this followed the National Executive Council resolution directing branches to take action when salaries are not paid by the third day of a new month, and the congress affirming the position. He said union members have abstained from lectures and statutory meetings.
The chairman stated further that any time salaries are not paid by the third day of the month, there would be a continuous withdrawal of services by the lecturers.
He also said the strike monitoring team of the branch had been activated to ensure compliance.
Members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Abuja branch, have also withdrawn their services on Monday as a result of the delay in the payment of their June 2025 salaries, Nigerian Tribune has gathered.
Chairman of the UniAbuja branch of ASUU, Dr. Sylvanus Ugoh, did not return calls to confirm the strike action by his members.
The spokesperson of the University of Abuja, Dr. Habib Yakoob, when contacted, however said he was not in a position to speak on the issue and advised that the question be directed to the branch chairman of ASUU.
