ESUT ASUU threatens strike over 2025 agreement

The Academic Staff Union of Universities, Nsukka Zone, has threatened to embark on an indefinite strike at the Enugu State University of Science and Technology if the Enugu State Government fails to implement the 2025 ASUU/Federal Government agreement on lecturers’ remuneration by the end of July.

The union said the proposed industrial action would commence if the agreement, including arrears from January 2026, was not implemented.

The Nsukka Zonal Coordinator of ASUU, Prof. Christian Opata, disclosed this during a press conference titled, ‘End the Lamentation in Enugu State University of Science and Technology,” at the university campus in Enugu on Tuesday.

Opata said ESUT lecturers were currently the least paid among public universities in the country, adding that the situation was affecting staff morale and the institution’s ability to attract and retain qualified academics.

“We wish to bring it to the knowledge of the public that if by the end of July 2026, the Enugu State Government fails to commence the implementation of the 2025 Agreement, the branch will have no option than to embark on an indefinite, comprehensive and total strike,” he said.

“The implementation should also include the arrears dating back to January 2026 as obtains in other universities.”

According to him, the 2025 agreement between ASUU and the Federal Government took effect in January after it was unveiled on January 14, 2026.

He said the National Universities Commission had communicated the agreement to all state governments, while vice-chancellors also transmitted the document to their respective governments for implementation.

Opata expressed concern that ESUT remained the only university in the ASUU Nsukka Zone yet to implement the agreement.

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The zone comprises Benue State University, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Federal University Lokoja, Federal University Wukari, Federal University of Health Sciences, Otukpo, Kogi State University, Anyigba, and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

The ASUU coordinator dismissed claims that inadequate funding was responsible for the delay, insisting that available revenue figures showed the state had the financial capacity to implement the agreement.

He added that other states, including Bauchi and Ogun, had already commenced implementation of the agreement despite receiving lower allocations.

Opata also alleged that ESUT had yet to fully implement aspects of the 2009 ASUU/Federal Government agreement, including the payment of Earned Academic Allowance.

He said, “How many strong academics would like to associate with a university that pays the least in the entire nation?

“The continued denigration of the state and the university, consequent on low funding and disregard for collectively bargained agreements, is a direct smear on their collective integrity as the first state-owned university in Nigeria.”

He disclosed that although the state government recently constituted a committee to look into the matter, the union had yet to see any concrete steps towards implementing the agreement.

The union appealed to Governor Peter Mbah, members of the university’s Governing Council, traditional rulers, opinion leaders and other stakeholders to intervene and prevent a disruption of academic activities.