(ASUU. Photo by Daily Post)
Three universities owned by the Lagos State Government may face another wave of industrial unrest as the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Lagos Zone, threatens a shutdown over the state government’s failure to implement the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU Agreement.
The union issued the warning during a press conference on Thursday at the Lagos State University of Science and Technology (LASUSTECH), accusing the state government of neglecting lecturers’ welfare despite months of discussions and engagements.
The affected institutions are the Lagos State University (LASU), the Lagos State University of Education (LASUED), and LASUSTECH.
ASUU stated that it was prepared to back any decision taken by its branches in the three universities should the government continue to delay implementation of the agreement, six months after it was signed.
Speaking at the briefing, the ASUU Lagos Zone Coordinator, Adesola Nassir, said lecturers across the institutions now feel abandoned and uncertain about the government’s commitment to their welfare.
He questioned how a government could demand world-class university rankings while failing to create world-class conditions for academic work, asking how excellence could flourish where welfare remains uncertain, and how innovation could thrive amid recurring industrial tension.
Nassir argued that it was unacceptable for Lagos State, widely referred to as the “Centre of Excellence,” to fall behind other states that have already commenced implementation of the agreement.
He maintained that no government can legitimately claim excellence while the intellectual workforce responsible for producing that excellence experiences prolonged uncertainty over agreed welfare commitments.
According to the union, the delay has already started affecting staff morale and could eventually lead to falling academic standards, instability within the institutions, and disruption of academic activities.
Nassir explained that where staff begin to feel despondent, as is now the case at LASU, LASUSTECH and LASUED, management of the system becomes problematic, triggering institutional decline that includes staff apathy, ethical drift, reduced graduate quality, and eventual disruption of the academic calendar.
ASUU also raised concerns over unresolved disputes within LASU and LASUED, including the dismissal of some union officials and the alleged victimisation of the ASUU chairperson at LASUED.
The union maintained that the Lagos State Government should be held accountable should the universities eventually be forced into industrial action, with Nassir declaring that government, not ASUU, should bear responsibility if the affected universities are thrown into avoidable crises or shut down entirely due to the government’s poor response to the concerns of its members.
ASUU appealed to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to urgently intervene by concluding discussions with the union branches in the affected institutions and implementing the 2025 agreement without further delay, in order to avert what it described as brewing unrest across Lagos State-owned universities.
