The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has threatened to reactivate its suspended nationwide strike if the federal government and state governments fail to address outstanding issues affecting university lecturers.

The ASUU President, Christopher Piwuna, has disclosed this in a statement issued in the early hours of today following an emergency meeting of the union’s National Executive Council at the University of Abuja.

According to reports, the union said it could resume the strike “without any further notice” over the incomplete implementation of the December 2025 agreement, payment of the remaining 3.5 months of withheld salaries and the non-remittance of billions of naira deducted from lecturers’ salaries.

As stated by the union, the December 2025 agreement, after eight years of negotiations, has not been fully implemented by the Federal Government and several state governments.

Similarly, the union has said that failure to urgently resolve issues affecting lecturers’ welfare could lead to the reactivation of its nationwide strike.

“Unless immediate and concrete steps are taken to FULLY and COMPREHENSIVELY address issues bordering the welfare and well-being of Nigerian academics, ASUU-NEC will not accept any blame for calling out its members on a nationwide strike action within the shortest time possible,” the union warned.

Acknowledging the Tinubu’s administration for paying four of the 7.5 months of salaries withheld during the previous administration, ASUU, however, demanded the payment of the outstanding 3.5 months.

Furthermore, the union commended the governments of Abia, Bauchi, Ekiti, Ogun, Benue, Yobe, Adamawa, Kebbi, Katsina and Borno states for commencing implementation of the agreement.

It added that Kano, Edo, Plateau, Taraba, Gombe and Bayelsa states had pledged to begin implementation in September or October.

Previous Strike Disrupted Academic Activities

The latest threat comes less than a year after ASUU embarked on a two-week nationwide warning strike in October 2025. The industrial action began on October 13 and was suspended on October 22, after the union said the Federal Government and the National Assembly had renewed their commitment to addressing its demands.

The 2025 strike affected academic activities in several public universities, with examinations disrupted in some institutions. If the suspended strike is reactivated, academic activities in affected public universities could be disrupted.