The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has officially implemented a no-pay-no-work policy to protest against the continuous delay in salary payments by the Federal Government.

This was revealed by ASUU’s National President, Professor Chris Piwuna, during an interview in Abuja on Friday. He explained that lecturers are struggling due to irregular salary payments since their exit from the government’s Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

The Federal Government had earlier announced that academic and non-academic staff in tertiary institutions would be removed from the IPPIS platform, a move ASUU had long demanded. However, the union says the current situation has become even more frustrating for its members.

Professor Piwuna expressed concern over the hardship the delay has caused. “Since we left IPPIS, our salaries have been paid late every month.

We are not paid like other government workers. Sometimes, we don’t get paid until 10 days into a new month. With the high cost of living, this delay is affecting our members seriously,” he said.

He added that as of early June, many lecturers were yet to receive their salaries. “Our members can’t even celebrate Sallah properly. 

So, we have resolved that if the government delays our pay, we won’t continue to teach. We are willing to teach, but we can’t work without being paid. That’s why we have decided to enforce the ASUU no-pay-no-work policy,” he stated.

ASUU branches across the country have begun to implement this directive by suspending classes until the outstanding salaries are paid.

Non-academic staff are also facing similar issues. Speaking on their behalf, the National President of the Joint Action Committee representing the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), Mohammed Ibrahim, condemned the government’s silence and failure to act.

“Last month, we sent several letters asking why our salaries were delayed, but we got no clear response. University workers are being treated unfairly,” he said.

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He further noted that letters were sent to the Office of the Accountant General and copied to both the Ministers of Education and Labour. “We even received a reply from the Labour Ministry, saying they contacted the Minister of Education. But clearly, nothing has changed because our salaries are still not paid this month.”

Both academic and non-academic unions are calling on the government to act urgently and ensure regular salary payments, especially in light of the current economic challenges.

As more university workers join in enforcing the ASUU no-pay-no-work policy, there are growing fears that academic activities in public universities could grind to a halt unless the government intervenes quickly.

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