The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has warned that public universities across Nigeria face an imminent shutdown following what it describes as the federal and state governments’ “distorted and selective” implementation of the FGN/ASUU agreement signed in December 2025.

The union’s leadership revealed that the fragile industrial peace currently enjoyed on campuses nationwide could collapse within weeks. Following a series of coordinated press briefings across its various zones—including Benin, Sokoto, Akure, Nsukka, and Jos—ASUU branches reported deep frustration among academic staff over the government’s failure to honor the core terms of the pact, which was officially presented to the public in January 2026.

A central grievance raised by the union is the government’s failure to inaugurate the Implementation Monitoring Committee (IMC).

According to ASUU, the absence of this vital oversight body has allowed university administrators and state governments to cherry-pick which parts of the agreement to execute, creating administrative bottlenecks and severe inconsistencies across institutions.

The union specifically called out the “selective” payment of critical salary-related components.

Lecturers claim that the Consolidated Academic Tool Allowance (CATA), Earned Academic Allowance (EAA), and Professorial Allowances are being distributed outside the agreed framework instead of being fully integrated into the Consolidated Academic Staff Salary Structure (CONUASS). ASUU maintains that this uncoordinated approach violates the terms intended to permanently resolve long-standing disputes over remuneration.

Compounding the crisis is a long list of unresolved welfare issues. These include unpaid arrears from the 25–35% salary award, outstanding promotion benefits, salary shortfalls linked to the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), and unremitted third-party deductions.

Furthermore, the union continues to demand the release of the three-and-a-half months of salaries withheld during the 2022 strike action, arguing that the subsequent stabilization of university calendars justifies the payment.

Beyond immediate welfare concerns, ASUU has strongly criticized recent structural choices by the Ministry of Education. The union voiced stiff opposition to the proposed Transnational Education framework—particularly plans to establish a local campus for Coventry University—labeling it a “neo-colonial” model that threatens to weaken the domestic university system.

They have also registered protests against the reversal of the mother-tongue instruction policy in early childhood education and attempts to phase out certain humanities and social science courses.

With an emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting scheduled for early June to review the government’s compliance, university stakeholders are urging prompt intervention from the presidency. ASUU has appealed to parents and the general public to prevail on authorities to implement the agreement fully, warning that the government’s current trajectory is actively provoking an avoidable industrial crisis.