The Academic Staff Union of Universities has instructed its branches across the country to suspend academic activities, citing the federal government’s delay in disbursing June 2025 salaries.
The union is enforcing its longstanding “No Pay, No Work” policy, and branches at the University of Jos and the University of Abuja have already downed tools in accordance with the directive.
ASUU President, Professor Chris Piwuna, confirmed the action in a conversation with Tribune Online on Monday in Abuja.
He explained that the decision aligns with a resolution by the union’s National Executive Council, which stipulates that members are to halt services if salary payments are delayed beyond three days into a new month.
“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.
The ASUU president criticized the perceived nonchalant attitude of government officials towards lecturers’ welfare, especially in relation to salary disbursement, which he described as “meager.”
He also highlighted that since university staff were moved from the Integrated Personnel Payroll and Information System to the Government Integrated Financial Management Information Systen, there have been persistent challenges, with workers frequently experiencing delays in their monthly pay.
Professor Piwuna said that the union had made several efforts to address the problem through engagements with top government officials, including the Minister of Education and the Accountant General of the Federation, but these efforts had not yielded results.
Consequently, the union opted to trigger the “No Pay, No Work” resolution passed by NEC.
“On whether other universities are joining the strike,” he added, “all institutions that have not been paid are expected to withdraw their services, insisting that this was the resolution at NEC and the only way to address the challenge, which he noted was being deliberately caused by some government officials, especially at the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation.”
He further stated, “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.”
The ASUU president dismissed any suggestion that the delays were caused by glitches in the payment platform.
According to him, the current system functions efficiently once funds are released to the institutions.
“This means the payment platform itself is not the issue. The delay is simply a deliberate act by the Office of the Accountant General to hold back the release of the funds,” he said.
“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,” Piwuna added.
Beyond salary delays, the union is also calling for the immediate release of the outstanding N10 billion in Earned Academic Allowance to prevent further disruptions.
“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 stated.
At the University of Jos, ASUU branch chairman Jurbe Molwus confirmed that members had ceased academic duties in compliance with the NEC directive, following the late payment of June salaries.
Molwus explained that the congress had backed the decision, leading members to boycott lectures and official meetings.
He said, “Whenever salaries are not paid by the third day of the month, lecturers would continue to withdraw their services until the payments are made,” adding that the branch’s strike monitoring team had been mobilized to ensure full compliance.