ASUU Sokoto Threatens Strike, Gives Govt 2-Week Ultimatum

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Sokoto State University (SSU) chapter, has issued the state government a two-week ultimatum to fully implement previously signed agreements, warning that failure to comply could trigger an indefinite strike.

According to the union, the ultimatum follows a meeting held with the Commissioner for Higher Education, Prof. Hamza Maishanu, along with other management officials and ASUU representatives, after an earlier two-month resolution window had lapsed. "After extensive deliberations, an agreement was reached and signed by both parties that the union's demands will be settled within a two-week timeframe by the government, as the ministry promised to communicate the union's demands to the Visitor, the Sokoto State Governor," the statement read.

The union expressed deep concern over the fresh commitment, noting that this was not the first occasion on which the government had failed to honour agreements reached with ASUU. It stressed that the current demands trace back to an agreement willingly signed by both parties on March 4, 2024.

Should the government fail to meet its obligations within the stipulated timeframe, the union warned that it may proceed with an indefinite strike at the state-owned university.

Union officials explained that they had reviewed an earlier resolution reached on August 24, 2025, alongside an assessment of the government's level of commitment to resolving longstanding issues around the non-payment of members' entitlements. They noted that concerns tied to the ASUU/FGN Agreement 2025 had since been merged with previously outstanding issues, culminating in a separate agreement signed with the government through the Ministry for Higher Education on April 28, 2025 — under which the government requested a further two-month window to resolve all outstanding matters.

"At the expiration of the period, the government partially implemented the salary component of the agreement, which the union applauded and appreciated, as the university became the first state university in the North-West to partially implement the salary component of the agreement," the statement added.

The union listed its outstanding demands to include the full and proper implementation of the salary component of the ASUU/FGN Agreement 2025, payment of outstanding Earned Academic Allowance (EAA), remittance of outstanding third-party deductions, payment of arrears arising from the 25 to 35 per cent salary increment, and settlement of accumulated promotion arrears.

The union appealed to stakeholders and residents of Sokoto State to prevail on the government to honour its commitments, in order to foster a sustainable and harmonious industrial relationship within the university.