Nigeria’s Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has given the federal government a four-day window to begin paying lecturers under a salary structure agreed months ago, warning that non-compliance will trigger a strong response from the union.
ASUU President Professor Christopher Piwuna made the announcement on Thursday while delivering a speech at a public lecture at Sa’adu Zungur University, Yuli Campus, in Bauchi State.
The agreement on the revised salary package was reached in December 2025, with implementation expected to begin in January 2026, but the government has yet to commence payments under the new structure.
The warning comes months after ASUU and the government renegotiated a salary agreement in January to resolve long-standing disputes dating back to the contentious 2009 Federal Government-ASUU pact. Despite initial optimism, many federal universities have struggled to pay salaries, with some yet to settle January and February wages. Piwuna attributed part of the delay to difficulties surrounding passage of the 2026 national budget.
Beyond pay, the ASUU president took direct aim at plans to open a Nigerian campus of Coventry University following President Bola Tinubu’s recent state visit to London. Piwuna argued the move could undermine the value and competitiveness of Nigerian universities, describing the proposal as a form of educational colonialism and saying ASUU would strongly resist any initiative that weakens local institutions. He also noted that Coventry University is currently experiencing declining admissions globally, and urged the government to instead direct resources toward strengthening domestic universities.
The ultimatum adds to deepening labour tensions across Nigeria’s public sector. On March 11, ASUU had already directed members in some branches to withdraw services over delays in June 2025 salary arrears and challenges linked to the transition to the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS). Separately, on March 25, federal civil servants outside ASUU threatened nationwide industrial action over outstanding wage awards.
ASUU has a long history of embarking on nationwide strikes to press its demands, actions that have repeatedly disrupted academic calendars and affected millions of students.
The federal government had not publicly responded to the latest ultimatum as of Friday morning.
