‘No Pay, No Work’: ASUU branches down tools over salary delay
By Ukpono Ukpong
University campuses across Nigeria are witnessing fresh disruption as various branches of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) have begun withdrawing their services in response to the non-payment of their June 2025 salaries.
The industrial action follows a directive from ASUU’s National Executive Council (NEC), which mandates all branches to enforce a “No Pay, No Work” resolution whenever salaries are delayed beyond the third day of a new month.
Already, ASUU members at the University of Jos and the University of Abuja have commenced strike action, with others expected to follow suit if the government fails to disburse their outstanding wages.
ASUU National President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, confirmed the development, stating that the strike is not arbitrary but a necessary enforcement of an existing union resolution aimed at protecting the welfare of its members.
He criticised the government’s lack of urgency in addressing salary issues, stressing that lecturers are often forced to wait for a week or more before receiving what he described as “a paltry amount” to carry out their duties.
Piwuna also pointed out that the transition from IPPIS to the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) has worsened the situation, with delayed salaries becoming a frequent occurrence, even as he dismissed claims of technical glitches, saying the salary platform itself is not faulty.
“What they are doing is just enforcing a NEC resolution. We have agreed at NEC that our members are going through a lot since our migration out of the Integrated Personnel Payroll and Information System. Certainly, our salaries are delayed for a week and sometimes 10 days before our members receive the paltry amount we get to help us carry out our duties well. Therefore, we agreed that if there is no pay, there will be no work.
“We have spoken to the relevant authorities. The minister is aware, the Office of the Accountant General is aware. All those concerned are aware that this thing has been happening. We’ve had meetings with them to express our dissatisfaction with the way our salaries are being paid, and they have not taken any action. We want to work, but we cannot because they have not allowed us to work.
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“So, the platform through which the payment is effected has not been the problem. It’s just a deliberate effort by the Office of the Accountant General to delay the release of the funds. The platform is working well, but those who make it work are not willing to make it work. We think it’s a deliberate act; that is the point we are making.” Piwuna explained.
ASUU Chairman at the University of Jos, Jurbe Molwus, said the congress at the institution has affirmed the NEC resolution, and members have since withdrawn from lectures and all statutory duties in protest.
Likewise, lecturers at the University of Abuja stayed away from campus activities on Monday, with only skeletal academic presence observed, reinforcing ASUU’s position that “No Pay, No Work” will remain the standard until the government fulfills its salary obligations.
