The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Abuja chapter, on Tuesday joined the nationwide protest by university lecturers to demand the immediate payment of withheld salaries, wage arrears, and the implementation of a long-delayed agreement.
Speaking at the protest, Dr. Sylvanus Ugoh, chairman of ASUU UniAbuja, said the action was to draw the attention of the federal government and Nigerians to the worsening hardship faced by lecturers.
He explained that lecturers have been on the same salary structure since 2009, despite promises to review it every three years.
The 2009 agreement, which should have been renegotiated in 2012, was only revisited in 2017 and finally concluded in February 2025 under the Elijah Yayale Ahmed-led committee.
“Since the report was submitted, nothing has been done. Our members can no longer cope, and across the country, lecturers are dying, many from stress-related illnesses,” Ugoh said.
According to him, the government still owes lecturers three and a half months’ salaries, one year’s arrears of the 25% and 35% wage awards, as well as promotion arrears of over five years. He also criticized the failure to remit deductions meant for cooperatives and unions.
Ugoh stressed that lecturers are only asking for what they earned: “We worked for our salaries. Pay us our arrears, implement the renegotiation report, and release our promotion arrears. The government keeps boasting that there is no strike under them, but the truth is we have only been patient.”
He also faulted recent government proposals to provide loans for academic staff, calling it insensitive when their rightful entitlements remain unpaid.
Ugoh warned that the continued neglect of lecturers’ welfare is worsening brain drain, lowering the quality of education, and threatening Nigeria’s development.
“No country develops beyond the strength of its universities. If Nigeria wants to move forward, it must first fix its university system,” he said.
The protesting lecturers carried placards and sang solidarity songs, urging the government to revitalise universities, implement agreements, and allow full autonomy in managing institutions.
