The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has issued a four-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to commence implementation of the newly approved salary structure for university lecturers.
ASUU President, Prof. Christopher Piwuna, disclosed this on Thursday while addressing members at Sa’adu ZungurUniversity, Yuli Campus, in Bauchi State, warning that failure to comply would trigger a strong response from the union.
“We have issued a four-day ultimatum from today to the Federal Government to commence payment of the newly approved salary structure. Failure to comply will attract a strong response from the union,” Piwuna said.
The development comes months after ASUU signed a renegotiated agreement with the Federal Government in January, aimed at addressing recurring strikes in public tertiary institutions.
The agreement, which includes a new salary structure, is expected to resolve a long-standing dispute linked to the implementation of the 2009 FG–ASUU pact on lecturers’ conditions of service, which has remained contentious for over a decade.
Despite initial optimism within the union that the agreement would be implemented without the need for industrial action, there has been little progress nearly three months later.
Piwuna recently raised concerns over salary payments across federal universities, noting that some institutions were unable to pay full salaries for January, while February salaries had yet to be paid in many cases.
The issue has already heightened tensions within the university system, with ASUU members at the University of Lagos briefly embarking on an indefinite strike over salary shortfalls before suspending the action following engagements with the institution’s management.
According to the ASUU President, the delays are largely linked to challenges in implementing the new salary structure, particularly the slow passage of the 2026 Federal Budget.
The union warned that continued inaction by the government could escalate industrial unrest across public universities, threatening academic stability nationwide.
