ASUU Strike: Strike Looms as Sokoto State University Lecturers Issue Final Warning Over Unpaid Arrears

Academic activities at Sokoto State University (SSU) and the Shehu Shagari University of Education (SSUE) are under threat as the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) warns of an imminent shutdown. Following a joint congress and press briefing, the union leaders have expressed deep frustration over what they describe as “prolonged neglect” by the Sokoto State Government regarding the welfare of lecturers in state-owned institutions.  

The core of the dispute centers on the refusal of the state government to implement the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement, which federal universities began honoring in January 2026. This agreement covers critical “peculiar allowances” for teaching and research that state lecturers argue they are equally entitled to under the national salary framework.  

The specific demands causing the friction include:

Unpaid Earned Academic Allowances (EAA): SSU lecturers are owed for the 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 sessions, while their counterparts at SSUE are awaiting payments for the last three academic cycles.  

Salary Award Arrears: The union is demanding 14 months of arrears (from January 2024 to February 2025) linked to the 25% and 35% salary award approved by the government.  

Withheld Deductions: ASUU has accused the State Ministry of Finance of failing to remit cooperative deductions and union check-off dues—funds already deducted from lecturers’ salaries—to the appropriate accounts since 2023.  

Dr. Bello Musa (SSU Chairperson) and Dr. Shamsu Kabiru (SSUE Chairperson) have stated that while they have explored all avenues of dialogue with the Ministry for Higher Education, no concrete action has been taken. The union warns that if these financial obligations are not met within the coming days, they will be “compelled” to withdraw their services, a move that would effectively truncate the current academic semester for thousands of students in the seat of the Caliphate.