The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) at the University of Jos has suspended its strike after members received their March 2026 salaries. The industrial action had begun on April 8, 2026, following delays in salary disbursement and the omission of the Earned Academic Allowance (EAA). According to ASUU's branch chairperson, Jurbe Molwus, the university administration received clearance from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation for the salary payment shortly after the strike commenced. Most lecturers have since confirmed receipt of their March salaries.
Despite the payment, ASUU expressed dissatisfaction that the EAA was not included. The union emphasized that the omission remains a critical unresolved issue. In a statement, Molwus stated that the Federal Government must release funds to fully implement the FGN–ASUU 2025 Agreement. Members have been directed to resume lectures, exams, and official meetings immediately. However, the union warned that failure to address the EAA exclusion by the end of April could trigger another strike.
Jurbe Molwus and the ASUU Unijos branch are playing a high-stakes game of leverage, suspending a strike not because all demands were met, but because partial payment created temporary breathing room. The fact that salaries were released almost immediately after the strike began suggests the federal bureaucracy moves only when pressured, exposing a reactive rather than proactive funding model for public universities.
The continued exclusion of the Earned Academic Allowance from the March 2026 payment reveals a deeper pattern: incremental compliance with union agreements without full implementation. The FGN–ASUU 2025 Agreement appears to be selectively enforced, with core components like EAA consistently deprioritized despite being central to past negotiations. This undermines the credibility of federal commitments and keeps academic staff in a cycle of protest and pause.
For university lecturers and their students, this means academic calendars remain vulnerable to last-minute disruptions. Lecturers face delayed and incomplete income, while students bear the brunt of interrupted learning and compressed exam schedules. The threat of another strike by end-April looms large, keeping uncertainty embedded in the academic process.
This is not an isolated grievance but part of a recurring rhythm in Nigeria's public education system—where salary delays, partial payments, and conditional compliance have become structural norms rather than exceptions.
