The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Nnamdi Azikiwe University branch, has declared an indefinite withdrawal of services over the non-payment of members’ full August 2026 salaries.
The decision was taken at the union’s congress on Monday, September 7, 2026, at the university and communicated in a statement signed by the branch Chairperson, Innocent Nnubia, and Secretary, Osita Nnajiofor.
The lecturers directed their members to suspend all academic and administrative duties with immediate effect, making the payment of the outstanding August salaries the sole condition for ending the action.
The branch said the decision was consistent with a standing resolution of ASUU’s National Executive Council (NEC) on salary arrears.
According to the union, the resolution empowers university branches to withdraw their services when members have not received their salaries by the third day of the following month.
With the deadline having passed, ASUU-NAU said the failure to pay the complete August salaries had triggered the industrial action.
“The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU-NAU Branch, at its Congress held today, Monday, 7th September, 2026, resolved to withdraw its services in compliance with the standing Resolution of ASUU National Executive Council on non-payment of salaries,” the statement said.
The union explained that the recent dispute was not an isolated occurrence. It claimed that members had experienced similar delays on more than three occasions.
“Today is 7th September 2026, and the University has not paid the complete salary for the month of August to our members.
“This makes it more than three times that our members are having this ugly and frustrating experience,” it stated.
The lecturers emphasised that the present action was specifically linked to the outstanding August payment, rather than a list of additional grievances.
“The sole reason for this action is the non-payment of the complete salary of August 2026,” the union declared.
The branch subsequently instructed all members to cease both teaching-related and administrative responsibilities until the outstanding salaries had been fully settled.
“The withdrawal of services shall subsist until the complete payment of August 2026 salary to all members,” the statement added.
ASUU-NAU also placed responsibility on the university management and the institution’s Visitor, President Bola Tinubu, to resolve the salary impasse.
The lecturers called for immediate intervention to secure the outstanding payments and prevent another recurrence of a frustrating experience.
“We therefore implore the University Authorities and the Visitor, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to urgently address the situation by ensuring the complete payment of the August 2026 salary to our members and ensure that this ugly experience does not repeat itself,” the union said.
The action means academic and administrative activities involving ASUU members at Nnamdi Azikiwe University will be affected until the salary dispute is resolved.
The union’s position also places the payment of the August wage balance at the centre of the dispute, which gives the university authorities a clearly defined condition for restoring normal services.
This development adds another salary-related dispute to the series of industrial tensions that have confronted Nigeria’s public university system, with ASUU-NAU relying on its national directive as the basis for the indefinite action.
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