The industrial action could commence after midnight and is expected to affect four institutions: Lagos State University (LASU), Lagos State University of Education (LASUED), Lagos State University of Science and Technology (LASUSTECH) and Lagos State University College of Medicine (LASUCOM).
The workers are represented by the Joint Action Committee (JAC), comprising the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) and Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Allied Institutions (NASU).
At a press briefing in Lagos on Friday, the unions said they had exhausted efforts to resolve the disputes through dialogue with the state government.
JAC Chairman, Prof. Ibraheem Bakare, said the unions had demonstrated patience and remained committed to negotiations but were left with no option but to consider industrial action after repeated attempts to reach an agreement failed.
“We have demonstrated unprecedented patience, maturity, and commitment to peaceful dialogue. However, our patience has been pushed to the absolute limit. We have exhausted every possible administrative channel to avert this crisis,” Bakare said.
Among the unions’ key demands is the full implementation of the 2025 Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN)-unions agreement across the four state-owned universities.
They are also demanding payment of nine months’ salary-related arrears covering January to September 2026 and implementation of the agreed non-taxable status for negotiated allowances.
The workers are further seeking a 15 per cent “Lagos Factor” allowance, which they said would help cushion the impact of the high cost of living in the state.
The unions also accused the government of failing to honour commitments they said were made by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, including a 20 per cent salary increase announced in 2023 and the provision of five Marcopolo buses for transporting students and staff.
Bakare described the demands as legitimate and said they were within the state government’s financial capacity.
He added that the unions remained open to intervention by the governor before the midnight deadline but warned that they would not call off the strike unless the outstanding issues were comprehensively addressed.
“We remain open to immediate executive action before the midnight deadline tonight,” he said.
Bakare said failure to resolve the outstanding matters would constitute a breach of existing agreements and make it difficult for the unions to suspend the proposed industrial action.
The unions also questioned why Lagos State had yet to implement agreements that they said were already being honoured in some states with fewer financial resources.
They further alleged that university employees were being treated differently from core civil servants in the state, claiming that the latter continued to receive certain allowances and benefits that were allegedly denied to university workers.
The unions said urgent intervention by the governor was necessary to prevent the planned strike from disrupting academic, administrative and other activities at the affected institutions.
