Nigerian lecturers warn of strike over unpaid federal agreement

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has threatened to begin an indefinite strike in universities located in Edo, Delta and Ondo states if the respective state governments do not implement the 2025 Federal Government/ASUU Agreement by the end of July.

The warning was issued by the union's Benin Zone, which covers institutions in those three states in southern Nigeria. According to Nairametrics, the union is pressing for full compliance with the national agreement reached last year between the federal authorities and university lecturers.

Nigeria's public universities have experienced repeated disruptions from ASUU strikes in recent years, often over funding, salaries and working conditions. These actions have frequently led to the loss of entire academic semesters, affecting hundreds of thousands of students across the country.

The 2025 agreement is understood to address several long-standing grievances, although the precise terms were not detailed in the union's latest statement. Failure to meet the end-of-July deadline would trigger industrial action across the affected universities in the three states.

Edo, Delta and Ondo form part of Nigeria's South-South and South-West geopolitical zones. Each maintains its own state-owned universities in addition to federal institutions. State governments therefore share responsibility for implementing aspects of national agreements that affect their local universities.

The Benin Zone of ASUU coordinates activities in universities situated in these states. Its threat reflects ongoing tensions between academic staff and both federal and state authorities over the funding of higher education in Africa's most populous nation.

Observers will be watching whether the state governments respond before the deadline. Past disputes between ASUU and Nigerian authorities have often required high-level intervention to avert or end prolonged strikes.

Based on reporting by Nairametrics.