The University of Abuja chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Tuesday joined a nationwide protest demanding the immediate payment of withheld salaries, arrears, and the implementation of a renegotiated agreement.

Despite heavy rainfall, lecturers gathered at the university’s main gate carrying placards and voicing frustration over what they described as government’s failure to address pressing issues affecting the education sector.

Chairman of ASUU UniAbuja, Dr. Sylvanus Ugoh, told journalists that the protest was aimed at drawing attention to the hardship faced by academic staff, who have remained on the same salary structure since 2009, despite promises of periodic reviews. He said the 2009 agreement, which was due for renegotiation in 2012, was only revisited in 2017 and concluded in February 2025 under the Yayale Ahmed-led committee, but has yet to be implemented.

Ugoh disclosed that the government currently owes lecturers three and a half months’ salaries, one year of unpaid 25% and 35% wage awards, and promotion arrears spanning over five years, in addition to failing to remit third-party deductions meant for cooperatives and unions.

“It is not a gift we are asking for. We worked for our salaries. Pay us our arrears, implement the renegotiation report, and release promotion arrears. This government says there’s no strike under them, but the truth is we have only been patient,” he said.

He also criticized government proposals to provide loans for academic staff, calling it insensitive while legitimate entitlements remain unpaid. Ugoh warned that neglecting lecturers’ welfare would worsen brain drain, undermine education quality, and hinder national development.

“No nation develops beyond the level of its university system. If government is serious about moving Nigeria forward, it must first move the university system forward,” he added.