The decision was announced in a communiqué issued after an emergency congress of the union held on Tuesday. The communiqué, signed by the branch chairperson, Idou Kehinde, and the secretary, Adesina Arikawe, said the industrial action would take effect from Wednesday, March 11, and would continue until the university management fully addresses the salary dispute.
Dispute over salary deductions
According to the union, the strike followed what it described as “extensive and exhaustive deliberations” over salary cuts implemented by the university management in the first two months of the year.
ASUU alleged that members received reduced salaries in January, with certain allowances omitted depending on campus location. The communiqué stated that lecturers at the Akoka campus did not receive their Earned Academic Allowance (EAA), while those at the Idi-Araba campus were paid without both EAA and the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance (CATA).
The union further claimed that the February salaries were also paid in reduced amounts without adequate explanation.
“The university discriminately paid amputated salary in January 2026 to all members,” the statement said, adding that February salaries were similarly reduced despite repeated complaints by staff.
ASUU strongly criticised the university administration, describing the deductions as unacceptable and accusing management of acting in a manner that disregarded the welfare of academic staff.
Union directs members to withdraw services
As part of the resolution reached during the congress, the union instructed all its members to withdraw their services until the issue is resolved.
The communiqué stated that the strike aligns with an earlier national resolution of the union’s National Executive Council, which supports industrial action where agreements on staff welfare are not honoured.
According to the union, the strike will remain in force until the university pays the full salaries owed to members for January and February 2026.
Context of recent agreement with government
The development comes months after the Federal Government reached a renegotiated agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities in late 2025, aimed at resolving longstanding disputes that had previously led to repeated strikes across Nigeria’s public universities.
The agreement, which took effect from January 1, 2026, included a 40 per cent upward review of academic staff salaries under the Consolidated University Academic Staff Salary structure. It also introduced a revised Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance and retained the Earned Academic Allowance, which compensates lecturers for responsibilities such as postgraduate supervision, examinations and excess workload.
The deal was widely seen as a major step toward improving lecturers’ welfare, addressing brain drain in the university system and restoring stability to public tertiary institutions.
However, the implementation of the agreement has reportedly encountered challenges at some universities, including delays and inconsistencies in applying the new salary structure and allowances.
With the strike now underway at the University of Lagos, stakeholders in the education sector are expected to closely watch how quickly the dispute is resolved to prevent disruptions to the academic calendar.