UNIZIK Lecturers Suspend Work Indefinitely Over Unpaid August Salaries

 Lecturers at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, have commenced an indefinite withdrawal of academic and administrative services after the university failed to pay the full August 2026 salary to members of its Academic Staff Union of Universities branch.

The ASUU-UNIZIK branch announced the decision after its congress on Monday, September 7, saying the action was taken under the union’s standing “no pay, no work” resolution. The branch said its members would remain off duty until the outstanding portion of their August salaries is fully paid.

In a statement signed by the branch chairperson, Innocent Nnubia, and secretary, Osita Nnajiofor, the union said its national executive council resolution permits branches to withdraw their services when salaries remain unpaid after the third day of the following month. By September 7, the lecturers said the full August salary had still not been paid.

The lecturers described the situation as a recurring problem, saying it was the third or more occasion on which members had experienced what they considered an unacceptable salary-payment situation. The branch therefore called on the university authorities and the institution’s Visitor, President Bola Tinubu, to intervene and ensure that the outstanding salaries are paid immediately.

The industrial action affects both teaching and administrative responsibilities. ASUU-UNIZIK directed all its members to immediately withdraw their services, meaning academic activities could be disrupted for students if the dispute is not resolved quickly. The union said the strike would continue until all affected members receive their complete August salaries.

The dispute comes against a wider period of uncertainty over the implementation of improved remuneration for university lecturers. A recent national report found that the 40 per cent salary increase contained in the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU agreement had not been implemented uniformly across Nigerian universities, with several institutions still negotiating over salary adjustments and related allowances.

UNIZIK had earlier positioned itself as one of the universities moving quickly on parts of the 2025 agreement. In January, the institution announced that it had begun implementing some enhanced academic allowances using internally generated revenue, while noting that different components of the agreement carry different funding responsibilities for the Federal Government and university governing councils.

The current dispute, however, is specifically about the incomplete payment of the August salary rather than a new demand for the implementation of the broader ASUU agreement. That distinction is important because the union itself identified the unpaid portion of the August salary as the sole immediate reason for the strike.

UNIZIK's Director of Information and Public Relations, Aloysius Attah, declined to comment when contacted about the strike. As a result, the university's explanation for the incomplete salary payment was not available in the reports reviewed.

The immediate priority is therefore to establish why the August salaries were not fully paid and how quickly the outstanding amounts can be released. A prolonged dispute could affect lectures, examinations, supervision and other academic activities at a time when universities are already dealing with wider concerns over funding and staff welfare.

For the lecturers, the action represents an escalation of a salary dispute they say has become recurrent. For the university and Federal Government, resolving it quickly will be important not only for restoring academic activities at UNIZIK but also for preventing another disruption in a university system already facing repeated labour disputes.