The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has threatened to shut down Lagos State’s three public universities over what it describes as the state government’s failure to implement the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU Agreement on staff welfare.
The union issued the warning on Thursday during a press briefing at the Lagos State University of Science and Technology (LASUSTECH), Ikorodu, saying it had exhausted months of dialogue without any concrete response from the Lagos State Government.
If the dispute remains unresolved, academic activities at Lagos State University (LASU), Lagos State University of Science and Technology (LASUSTECH) and Lagos State University of Education (LASUED) could be disrupted.
Addressing journalists, ASUU Lagos Zonal Coordinator, Professor Adesola Nassir, said the union had spent the last six months engaging the government through letters, meetings and other official channels, but none had produced the desired outcome.
“We are giving this warning ahead so that there won’t be any allegation that some persons are sponsoring ASUU members to demand their rights,” Nassir said.
The union explained that the welfare package at the centre of the dispute is contained in the FGN-ASUU 2025 Agreement, which was signed after eight years of negotiations and replaced the 2009 agreement that had long been associated with recurring industrial disputes in Nigerian universities.
According to ASUU, representatives of both federal and state universities, including pro-chancellors, participated in the negotiations, making the agreement one that state governments were expected to implement.
Nassir said several state governments have already begun implementing the agreement, but Lagos has yet to do so.
He argued that the delay has left academic staff in the state’s public universities frustrated, particularly as colleagues in other states have started benefiting from the new welfare provisions.
“No government can legitimately claim excellence while the intellectual workforce responsible for producing excellence experiences prolonged uncertainty over agreed welfare commitments,” he said.
The union added that it is fully aligned with the nationwide position of ASUU’s state university branches, which have resolved to intensify action against governments that fail to implement the agreement.
As of the time of filing this report, the Lagos State Government had not issued an official response to ASUU’s threat.
