The Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi (JOSTUM) branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities previously known as the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi has officially launched an immediate, total, and non-negotiable industrial action.

This declaration followed a congress held on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, as outlined in a press statement released to journalists in Makurdi, Benue State, by the union’s branch chairperson, Terseer Abari.

Operating under the directive “No-Pay-No-Work,” Abari called on the relevant authorities to settle all outstanding earnings owed to ASUU-JOSTUM members so that normal academic operations could resume.

The branch chairperson explained that the university management had fulfilled only two out of the four financial components established in the 2025 Federal Government and ASUU agreement.

The official statement noted in part that, up to the time of the announcement, the institution had solely disbursed the Consolidated Academic Staff Salaries along with the Earned Academic Allowance segments of their remuneration.

It further highlighted that the two other components the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance and the Professorial Allowance—were last remitted in January and February 2026, alongside a partial payment of just 39 percent for the March 2026 Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance, all of which culminated in a significant underpayment of faculty members.

The document added that, based on these circumstances, the general assembly of the union, during its meeting at the Science Lecture Theatre, South Core, Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi, resolved to activate the national executive mandate to enter into a full and all-encompassing strike starting right away.

The statement emphasized that throughout the duration of the industrial action, no lectures, research supervision, examinations, statutory meetings, or any other academic activities will take place until the institution fully clears the unpaid compensation owed to its members.