RismadarVoice Reporters
September 15, 2026
The Academic Staff Union of Universities Joint Campus Group in Lagos State has declared a total and indefinite strike across the three universities owned by the Lagos State Government, citing the failure of the state government to resolve outstanding demands on the implementation of the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU agreement.
The affected institutions are Lagos State University, Lagos State University of Education and Lagos State University of Science and Technology.
The industrial action took effect on Tuesday, September 15, following the expiration of a 14-day ultimatum issued to the Lagos State Government on August 31.
In a statement signed by the Coordinator of the ASUU-LASU Steering Committee, Olusegun Babalola; Acting Chairman of ASUU-LASUED, Grace Abimbola; and Chairman of ASUU-LASUSTECH, Murisiku Onigemo, the union said the ultimatum expired without what it considered a satisfactory response or a concrete implementation plan from the government.
The union said it had expected the government to initiate discussions before the September 13 deadline but alleged that no meaningful engagement took place.
ASUU said its final warning issued on September 10 had also failed to produce the required response, prompting the union to proceed with the strike.
At the centre of the dispute is the union’s demand for the full domestication and implementation of the December 2025 ASUU-FGN Agreement across all Lagos State-owned universities.
According to the lecturers, the demand includes the implementation of the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance and other welfare provisions affecting both serving and retired academic staff.
The union said the action would remain in force until the Lagos State Government engages meaningfully with the union, signs, domesticates and fully implements the applicable provisions of the 2025 agreement.
“Following the expiration of the 14-day ultimatum issued to the Lagos State Government on 31 August 2026, the Academic Staff Union of Universities Joint Campus Group—comprising Lagos State University, Lagos State University of Education, and Lagos State University of Science and Technology—hereby declares a total, comprehensive and indefinite strike action effective immediately,” the statement said.
ASUU described the decision as one taken with a “heavy heart,” saying it remained committed to dialogue and would support the restoration of normal academic activities once the outstanding issues were resolved.
The union urged students and parents to remain calm, peaceful and law-abiding while efforts were made to resolve the dispute.
It also described the industrial action as a “rescue mission for Lagos State education,” signalling its view that the dispute extends beyond staff welfare to broader concerns about the conditions under which the state’s public universities operate.
The Lagos Joint Campus Group said the strike had the backing of the national leadership of ASUU, which it said had supported the various steps taken by the affected university branches before the industrial action.
Those steps, according to the union, included communications with university managements, governing councils and relevant state authorities, followed by the 14-day ultimatum issued to the government.
ASUU further appealed to traditional rulers, religious leaders, alumni associations, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to support its demands and encourage the Lagos State Government to resolve the dispute.
The strike adds the three Lagos State-owned universities to a growing list of institutions where lecturers have taken or threatened industrial action over demands linked to the implementation of the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU agreement.
The development is expected to disrupt lectures, academic activities and other university operations across the three institutions unless negotiations between the union and the Lagos State Government produce an agreement.
ASUU, however, maintained that it remained open to constructive engagement and would suspend the strike once a satisfactory and verifiable resolution was reached. The union’s position places the responsibility for ending the disruption on the outcome of negotiations over the implementation of the disputed agreement.
