The Sokoto Zonal Chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has warned that continued delays and what it described as the selective implementation of the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU agreement could trigger fresh industrial unrest in Nigerian universities.
Speaking in Sokoto, the union’s Zonal Coordinator, Abubakar Sabo, said both federal and state governments had failed to fully implement key provisions of the agreement unveiled in January 2026.
According to the union, unresolved issues include unpaid academic and professorial allowances, earned academic allowances, promotion arrears, salary shortfalls, annual increments and outstanding third-party deductions affecting lecturers across universities in the North-West zone.
“The Sokoto Zone is deeply disturbed that several federal and state universities are yet to fully implement major components of the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement,” Sabo said.
ASUU also raised concerns over unpaid 25–35 per cent salary award arrears, withheld salaries linked to the 2022 strike, delayed pensions and the lack of pension harmonisation for retired lecturers.
The union accused some institutions of failing to remit cooperative deductions and union dues, while lecturers in some universities were allegedly still owed promotion arrears and salary increments dating back to 2020.
ASUU specifically mentioned Sokoto State University and Shehu Shagari University of Education, alleging that lecturers handling parallel and special academic programmes had not been paid corresponding allowances.
The union further criticised recent education policies introduced by the Federal Government, including the proposed Transnational Education Framework, compulsory enrolment of academics into the Nigerian Educational Repository Data system and moves to phase out some humanities and social science courses.
ASUU argued that unemployment in Nigeria was not caused by academic programmes but by poor governance and economic policies.
The union also expressed concern over worsening insecurity across the country, particularly in northern Nigeria, saying banditry, terrorism and communal violence continue to disrupt academic activities and threaten the safety of students and lecturers.
ASUU urged governments at all levels to prioritise education funding, staff welfare and security to preserve stability in the nation’s universities.
