The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has called off its nationwide strike.
This is as the Federal Government on Tuesday released the long-awaited June 2025 salaries of lecturers and other staff in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.
The payment ends weeks of tension and a “no-pay-no-work” stance adopted by several ASUU chapters following five consecutive months of delayed salaries.
The delays were reportedly caused by the migration of academic staff from the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) to the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), a process overseen by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
According to Punch, at Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, the ASUU branch chairperson, Haruna Angulu, confirmed that lecturers had resumed their duties after the June salaries were credited to their accounts.
Similarly, the ASUU chapter at the Federal University of Kashere issued a memo directing members to resume academic activities, citing the release of salaries.
At the University of Jos, a circular from the institution’s bursary department confirmed the payment of delayed wages, which led to the reversal of the earlier work boycott by the lecturers.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, in a statement on Tuesday, noted that the current atmosphere of stability across tertiary institutions was the result of sustained dialogue.
“It is not by coincidence that Nigerian public tertiary institutions have remained open and stable for the past two years, something that has not happened in several decades,” the Minister stated in Abuja on Tuesday.
He attributed the peace to sustained dialogue, mutual respect, and the Tinubu administration’s commitment to resolving longstanding issues affecting both academic and non-academic staff.
“This is a reflection of our government’s unwavering commitment to maintaining cordial relationships with all stakeholders in the education sector. We are meeting demands in phases, and we are doing so respectfully and consistently,” he said.
Alausa reiterated that the welfare of university staff remains a top priority under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
“Our children are the heartbeat of the nation, and their uninterrupted education is non-negotiable,” he stressed.
The Minister further assured that the Federal Government would continue to engage all education-sector unions to safeguard the integrity of the academic calendar and ensure that institutions remain operational.
“The Federal Government will continue to work closely with all unions in the education sector to ensure that the gates of our institutions remain open,” Alausa concluded.
