The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Sokoto Zone, has warned that Nigeria’s public universities may be heading toward another industrial crisis over what it described as the Federal Government’s failure to fully implement agreements reached with the union.
The warning was issued on Thursday during a press conference in Sokoto, where the union accused both federal and state governments of neglecting key welfare and funding challenges affecting lecturers and public universities across the country.
Speaking at the briefing, the Zonal Coordinator of ASUU, Abubakar Sabo, said the delay in implementing the 2025 FGN–ASUU Agreement was already creating tension on campuses and threatening industrial harmony in the university system.
He noted that although the agreement was publicly signed and presented in January 2026, the government had yet to inaugurate the Implementation Monitoring Committee. According to him, this delay has led to inconsistencies and selective implementation of key provisions by university authorities.
Sabo warned that continued failure to address the outstanding issues could trigger avoidable industrial unrest. He also listed unresolved welfare concerns, including salary arrears, promotion arrears, shortfalls linked to IPPIS, withheld salaries from the 2022 strike period, and delayed pension payments for retired academics.
Beyond welfare issues, ASUU also criticised certain education policies, including plans to establish a Nigerian campus of Coventry University under the Transnational Education framework, arguing that it could weaken local universities. The union also opposed moves to scrap some humanities and social science courses, while calling on governments to urgently address insecurity, poverty, and unemployment to improve the education environment.
Elijah Adeyemi
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