Lecturers at Lagos State’s three public universities have vowed to strike if the state government fails to meet their demands once a 14-day ultimatum expires today.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) branches at Lagos State University (LASU), Lagos State University of Science and Technology (LASUSTECH) and Lagos State University of Education (LASUED) are demanding that the state implement the December 2025 agreement signed between ASUU and the Federal Government (FG)
Congresses at the three universities, backed by ASUU’s National Executive Council (NEC), issued the 14-day ultimatum on Friday, August 31, 2026.
In a joint statement signed by ASUU-LASU Steering Committee Coordinator Dr. Olusegun Babalola, ASUU-LASUED acting chairman Comrade Grace Abimbola, and ASUU-LASUSTECH chairman Comrade Murisiku Onigemo, the union said the state government had neither invited it to talks nor outlined any plan to resolve the dispute as the deadline neared.
“Only one day remain. Yet, 13 days after the ultimatum was issued, the Lagos State Government has neither invited the union to dialogue nor communicated any concrete plan to resolve the issues at stake. The union considers this silence deeply disturbing and unacceptable,” the statement read.
The union said its patience had built up over more than eight months since the FG-ASUU agreement was signed, during which it held off on industrial action in the hope of constructive engagement with the state.
What The Union Is Demanding
According to the union leaders, the core demands include full domestication of the 2025 agreement, covering the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance (CATA) and other welfare provisions, along with protections for retired professors who the union says continue to face difficult financial circumstances.
“The Lagos State Government cannot continue to treat these issues with silence,” the union said, describing its demands as neither ambiguous nor unreasonable.
The union pointed out that Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Abia and Enugu states have already domesticated and implemented the agreement, and argued Lagos should not lag behind despite its resources.
“Lagos State, with its enormous resources and strategic importance to Nigeria’s educational development, should not be the state that chooses inaction where others have demonstrated commitment,” the statement said.
With the ultimatum expiring today, the union has called on Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration to open negotiations immediately.
“We call on the government to immediately open meaningful negotiations with the union and demonstrate, through concrete action rather than assurances, its commitment to the welfare of university workers and the stability of the state’s tertiary education system,” the union stated.
Whether the strike goes ahead now depends on whether Lagos State responds before the ultimatum’s deadline passes.
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