ASUU Strike Spreads as Universities Protest Unpaid Salaries – Lecturers Down Tools Nationwide
written | By Okafor Joseph (July 8, 2025)
The ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) over delayed salary payments is gathering momentum as more universities shut down academic activities in protest.
At Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) in Bauchi State, ASUU members have fully joined the strike action. Lecturers at ATBU stayed off campus following a memo issued by the union’s leadership directing members to down tools until their outstanding salaries are paid.
In the Federal Capital Territory, the University of Abuja is witnessing partial compliance, with many lecturers absent from their offices as salary arrears remain unsettled.
At Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, most academic staff have also complied with the National Executive Council’s (NEC) resolution to suspend work until June 2025 salaries are paid in full.
Similarly, at the University of Jos (UniJos), lecturers have joined the industrial action, citing frustration over the non-payment of their June salaries. A lecturer at UniJos told BusinessDay that the union resolved to stay off work after the NEC directed branches to act if salaries are not paid by the third day of a new month — a decision which was reaffirmed by the local congress.
However, some institutions have not joined the strike. At the Federal University, Otuoke in Bayelsa State, senior lecturer Stanley Boroh confirmed that they received their salaries on Monday, July 7, and therefore did not activate the strike directive. He noted, “The resolution from our last NEC meeting in Benin was clear — once salaries are delayed beyond the third day, we should down tools. But since our salaries were paid yesterday, we did not join.”
At the University of Lagos, Dean of the Faculty of Mass Communication, Sunday Oloruntola, also confirmed that lecturers there have not joined the strike.
Meanwhile, ASUU National President Chris Piwuna reiterated the union’s stance on its “no pay, no work” policy. He emphasized that any future delay in salary payments, especially the June salaries, would trigger immediate industrial action nationwide.
Parents and stakeholders are urging the federal government to resolve these salary issues swiftly to prevent further disruption of academic activities in public universities.
