ASUU halts planned strike as June salaries hit lecturers accounts before deadline expired.
Union warns future delays could trigger renewed action amid ongoing frustrations over payment systems.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has dropped its plan to go on strike over delayed June 2025 salaries after lecturers finally received their payments.
Confirming the development, Dr. Sylvanus Ugoh, chairman of ASUU’s University of Abuja chapter, said on Tuesday that the union had called off its intended strike after salary alerts began to reflect in members’ bank accounts before the union’s ultimatum expired.
“Our members began receiving their June 2025 salaries before the 11:59pm deadline on Monday, July 7,” Dr. Ugoh explained. “As a result, the UniAbuja branch did not implement the service withdrawal that was earlier agreed upon by Congress.”
The resolution averts what could have escalated into a nationwide disruption of academic activities across public universities.
Earlier, the national leadership of ASUU had authorized its branches to prepare for service withdrawal in response to delays in monthly wage disbursement, based on a decision reached during a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting. The union had resolved to enforce a “No Pay, No Work” stance if salaries were not paid by the stipulated deadline.
ASUU President, Professor Chris Piwuna, had on Monday described the recurring salary delays as evidence of the federal government’s nonchalant approach to university staff welfare. He blamed the issue not on technology, but on negligence by key government officials.
“We want to work, but we cannot because they have not allowed us to,” Piwuna stated. “It’s not a problem with the payment platform. The issue is that those responsible for releasing funds are simply failing to do their jobs.”
He further emphasized that the switch from the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) to the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) had only made things worse, adding to the financial hardship faced by university lecturers.
According to him, any university whose staff had not been paid by July 7 was expected to initiate strike action without further delay.
While the latest development has temporarily averted a strike, the union’s leadership warned that continued delays or inconsistent salary payments could reignite the crisis. ASUU has repeatedly called on the federal government to address systemic issues in public university funding and ensure prompt salary payments to avoid future disruptions.
