University lecturers in Nigeria have warned of renewed strikes unless the federal government moves swiftly to implement reforms recommended by the Yayale Ahmed report, submitted in February after years of negotiations.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Ibadan Zone, issued the warning on Monday, accusing the government of employing “delay tactics” and ignoring agreements that could stabilise the country’s public university system.
Speaking at a press conference in Ibadan, Zonal Coordinator Professor Biodun Olaniran said lecturers were increasingly disillusioned by withheld salaries, unpaid allowances, and the failure to address long-standing promotion arrears. He also condemned the continued reliance on the IPPIS salary payment platform, which the union insists is unsuitable for universities.
Olaniran added that many lecturers were now struggling to meet basic family obligations and had been forced into debt. He blamed years of underfunding and policy inconsistencies for worsening brain drain, as academics sought better opportunities abroad.
The union also raised alarm over what it described as government’s “erosion of university autonomy”, citing the dissolution of governing councils before the end of their tenure.
ASUU has a long history of strikes that have repeatedly disrupted Nigeria’s university calendar, often stretching into months. The Ibadan Zone urged citizens to press the government to act, warning that failure to implement the recommendations of the Yayale Ahmed report would inevitably lead to another breakdown in industrial peace.
