The members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Owerri Zone, have raised the alarm over the Federal Government’s non-implementation of the 2025 FG/ASUU agreement, describing it as “unacceptable”, noting that the government’s inaction could lead to disruption in the academic system.
They called on President Bola Tinubu to urgently address what it described as “vexatious delay” in salary, pension and other welfare issues of its members to douse tensions threatening fragile industrial peace across Nigerian universities.
The Zonal Coordinator, ASUU Owerri Zone, Prof. Dennis Aribodor, made the call on Tuesday in a press briefing held at the ASUU Secretariat of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.
Aribodor, flanked by other members of the Union, criticised the distorted manner of implementation of the agreement in some universities, calling on other critical stakeholders, including traditional and religious leaders, students, parents, Nigeria Labour Congress, media and civil society groups to urge both federal and state governments to ensure faithful implementation of the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement.
ASUU Owerri Zone is made up of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Federal University of Technology Owerri, Imo State University, Owerri, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike and Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.
Speaking further, Aribodor noted that implementing the agreement and addressing other contending issues would avert industrial disharmony as well as disruptions in the university system.
He said, “We are apprehensive that the momentum of trust and goodwill generated with the unveiling of the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement on January 14, 2026, is fast waning and may soon be lost if the government’s promise to fully implement the Agreement is not kept.
“Our apprehension is predicated on the government’s failure to inaugurate the Implementation Monitoring Committee expected to shield the Agreement from bureaucratic bottlenecks and guide its strategic actualisation.
“So far, the Federal Government agents have implemented it in a distorted and uncoordinated manner, while very few state governments have embraced and implemented aspects of the Agreement.
“Administrators of Federal universities are picking and choosing what to pay among the Consolidated Academic Tool Allowances, Earned Academic Allowances and Professorial Allowances, whereas all of these should have been mainstreamed with the Consolidated Academic Staff Salary Scale as monthly salary packages for the concerned academic staff.
“Notwithstanding that representatives of governing councils of state universities actively participated in the negotiations and signing of the Agreement, some state governors, visitors to state universities, have apparently turned their back on the Agreement.
“While commending some state universities in the Northern and Western parts of the country that blazed the trail in implementing the Agreement, it is sad to note that no state university in the South East has implemented the Agreement.
“ASUU Owerri Zone strongly condemns the partial or non-implementation of the salary component of the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement by Vice-Chancellors. We call on the Federal and State governments to respect the letter and spirit of the Agreement for lasting industrial harmony on our campuses.
“We shall stop at nothing to ensure that all our members fully benefit from the modest gains of the eight-year-long negotiation (2017-2025). We are therefore raising the alarm and calling on all critical stakeholders to urge governments to ensure the faithful implementation of the agreement.”
According to Aribodor, the briefing was aimed at presenting the outcome of the review of the December 2025 agreement with the Federal Government and its public presentation in January 2026, as well as other outstanding issues after a studied silence by the academic body.
He added that the gap created by non-inauguration of the IMC is equally evident in the distorted implementation of another key component of the December 2025 Agreement – the proposed National Research Council.
He likened suspension of lecturers’ salaries on account of “no work, no pay” to reducing scholars to menial workers whose livelihood is calibrated in physical appearance at their worksite.
Aribodor also listed some of the unresolved issues to include arrears of the 25-35 per cent salary award, arrears of promotions, remittances of third-party deductions (Union check-off dues, cooperative society deductions, pension contributions, national housing fund deductions, etc).
“On April 7, 2026, the Minister of Education announced that the Federal Executive Council had concluded plans to establish a National Research and Innovation Development Fund to which ASUU had no input whatsoever!
“We are surprised that the Minister’s proposal talks of $500 million without reference to the FGN-ASUU Agreement, which calls for at least one per cent equivalent of GDP as a source of funding for research, innovation, and development.
“While the Union is not averse to Ministries, Departments and Agencies and other stakeholders making contributions to the development of the legal and policy frameworks of the Fund, ASUU Owerri Zone calls on the Federal Government to be properly guided by the well-thought-out frameworks and objectives set out for it in the new FGN-ASUU Agreement.
“We shall resist any attempt to hijack and derail the research and development agenda by external agents and their local collaborators. We are at a loss as to why the Minister preferred to denominate the funding in dollars!
“ASUU Owerri Zone is therefore raising the alarm and calling on all critical stakeholders, including traditional rulers, religious leaders, students, parents, the NLC, media and the civil society groups, to urge governments (both states and federal) to ensure the faithful implementation of the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement and address the stated outstanding issues to avoid disruptions in our universities,” the group added.
