The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has authorised 20 universities to begin processes that could lead to industrial action over the alleged failure of the Federal Government and state governments to fully implement the 2025 agreement reached with the union.
The decision was taken at ASUU’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held at the University of Abuja on 8 and 9 August 2026.
According to resolutions released by the union, the affected branches are required to issue 14-day ultimatums before commencing strike action if their demands are not addressed.
ASUU President, Prof Christopher Piwuna, said in a statement issued late on Monday that the union’s NEC would hold an emergency meeting at the end of August or early September to review developments and take further decisions.
The meeting, he said, would be held “without prejudice to the decisions taken so far”.
The universities authorised to begin the strike process are Nasarawa State University, Keffi; Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai; University of Medical Sciences, Ondo; Gombe State University; Plateau State University, Bokkos; Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba; Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma; Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa; Abia State University, Uturu; and University of Education and Entrepreneurship, Akamkpa.
Others are Emmanuel Alayande University of Education, Oyo; Kaduna State University; Kano State University of Science and Technology, Wudil; Northwest University Kano; Enugu State University of Science and Technology; Imo State University; Niger Delta University; University of Africa, Toru-Orua; Bayelsa Medical University; and Taraba State University, Jalingo.
The union said the affected branches would commence industrial action after the expiry of the 14-day ultimatum if their grievances remained unresolved.
It added that branches within its Sokoto Zone had already issued a two-week ultimatum.
ASUU attributed the decision to what it described as the “haphazard implementation” of the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement and the Federal Government’s “lackadaisical attitude” towards releasing the subvention required to implement the agreement fully.
Students warn against another disruption
Meanwhile, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has urged state governors to prevent disputes over the implementation of the agreement from triggering another round of industrial action in the university system.
NANS President, Akinteye Afeez, said students should not be made to bear the consequences of disagreements between university authorities, state governments and academic staff.
The students’ body said repeated strikes had resulted in prolonged academic disruptions, delayed graduation and extended programmes, with significant consequences for students’ academic progress and wellbeing.
The latest threat of industrial action comes amid concerns over unused capacity in Nigeria’s tertiary education system.
A policy brief by the iRead To Live Initiative found that 706,418 approved admission spaces in Nigerian tertiary institutions remained unfilled during the 2025 admission cycle, despite strong demand for places in higher education.
According to the report, 1,009,736 of the 1,716,154 approved admission places were filled, representing a national utilisation rate of 58.8 per cent. More than 40 per cent of the approved capacity therefore remained unused.
The findings were contained in an August 2026 policy brief titled The Admissions Gap: Who Gets into Nigeria’s Tertiary Institutions, and Why It Matters, authored by the organisation’s Executive Director, Jacob Sule.
The report is the first publication of the iRead To Live Initiative since its establishment as a higher education policy think tank.
The organisation said the research was independently conducted and was neither funded nor commissioned by a government agency, tertiary institution or commercial organisation.
It noted that the 2026 admission cycle was still ongoing when the report was prepared, making direct comparison with the completed 2025 figures inappropriate.
The policy brief attributed the admissions gap largely to a structural mismatch between the location of approved university places and the preferences, qualifications and geographical accessibility of prospective students.
It recommended that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) publish privacy-protected admissions and performance data broken down by state, local government area, geopolitical zone, gender, subject and institution.
The proposed data, the organisation said, would help policymakers better understand the factors contributing to unused admission capacity and improve planning within Nigeria’s tertiary education sector.
