The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has warned of a possible fresh confrontation with the Federal Government over the delayed implementation of agreements on Earned Academic Allowances (EAA).
Speaking in an interview on Thursday, ASUU President, Chris Piwuna, accused the Federal Government of poorly implementing the renegotiated agreement signed earlier this year, noting that lecturers have gone 18 months without receiving the allowances.
The Federal Government had signed a renegotiated agreement with ASUU on January 14, 2026, after years of disputes and prolonged negotiations aimed at preventing recurring strikes in public universities. The talks were concluded in December 2025 between government representatives and ASUU leadership.
Despite the agreement, delays in salary payments across federal universities have continued since February, raising concerns among lecturers and ASUU branches nationwide. Several branches have already threatened industrial action if the government fails to honour the agreement fully.
Piwuna said university lecturers are becoming increasingly frustrated with what he described as the Federal Ministry of Education’s poor handling of the agreement, especially the payment of the EAA.
“Our members across the branches feel the hardship, so their reactions are expected,” he said.
“The Ministry of Education appears to have gone to sleep, and we intend to wake them up. Once the warning signs begin, everyone will know what comes next.”
The ASUU president criticised the government for signing agreements without providing adequate funding, adding that vice-chancellors were now being left to struggle with implementation.
According to him, the EAA was supposed to be integrated into lecturers’ salaries to eliminate the backlog of unpaid arrears, but the arrangement has not been implemented since January.
He also revealed that lecturers’ promotion arrears are still awaiting approval from the Minister of Finance, while other promised professional allowances have remained unpaid.
“Some vice-chancellors cannot afford to pay these allowances,” he said.
“We are tired of excuses and delays. We have had enough of these tactics.”
Piwuna further stated that the union is worried that the current situation is beginning to resemble previous years of unresolved negotiations and repeated disputes over academic allowances.
He explained that the 2025 agreement included additional salary components such as journal, conference and book allowances, professorial allowances, and part of the EAA, but implementation has been inconsistent.
“All these allowances have been implemented in the most disorganised manner imaginable,” he added.
