FG’s failure to implement 2025 pact may trigger fresh varsity crisis — ASUU
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Jos branch, has warned that the federal government’s failure to fully implement the December 2025 FGN/ASUU agreement could spark a fresh wave of industrial unrest in public universities nationwide. Addressing journalists in Jos on Monday, the branch chairman, Prof. Jurbe Joseph Molwus, expressed deep dissatisfaction with the government’s poor commitment to the pact. This briefing followed a recent congress of the union and deliberations by ASUU’s National Executive Council (NEC) held at Modibbo Adama University, Yola.
Prof. Molwus noted that the goodwill generated by the January 14, 2026, unveiling of the agreement has significantly dwindled due to persistent delays, most notably the government’s failure to inaugurate the Implementation Monitoring Committee. According to the union, the implementation process has been marred by inconsistencies across both federal and state universities, with many institutions selectively paying components of agreed allowances. These include the Consolidated Academic Tool Allowance, Earned Academic Allowance, Professorial Allowance, and Responsibility Allowance. While some institutions have implemented a few of these, others have yet to commence any form of payment, a situation the union attributes to inadequate funding and a lack of political will from both tiers of government.
The union also faulted several state governments for distancing themselves from the agreement, despite their involvement in the original negotiation process, though it commended Sa’adu Zungur University and Ekiti State University for demonstrating leadership by taking steps toward implementation. On the broader front, ASUU criticized the federal government’s establishment of a National Research and Innovation Development Fund outside the parameters of the 2025 agreement, questioning the decision to denominate the fund in foreign currency, which they argue could increase the nation’s reliance on foreign borrowing.
Beyond the 2025 agreement, the union highlighted several long-standing welfare issues, including unpaid arrears of the 25/35 percent wage award, promotion arrears, unremitted third-party deductions, and salary shortfalls linked to the IPPIS platform. ASUU also demanded the release of the three-and-a-half months’ salaries withheld during the 2022 strike, arguing that the action is unjustifiable since the academic work lost during that period has since been fully recovered.
Prof. Molwus further voiced opposition to recent policy shifts in the education sector, specifically the reversal of the mother-tongue policy for early childhood education, the proposal to establish a Coventry University campus in Nigeria, and suggestions to scrap certain social science and humanities courses. Linking these academic concerns to the state of the nation, the union lamented the worsening insecurity and economic hardship facing over 133 million Nigerians living in poverty. Warning that the continued neglect of lecturers’ welfare is creating significant internal frustration, the union called on all relevant stakeholders to prevail on the government to act before the brewing anger results in another round of national industrial unrest.
