Wednesday, September 9, 2026 - The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Sokoto State University (SSU) branch, has given the Sokoto State Government two weeks to settle outstanding entitlements owed its members or face industrial action.
The union issued the ultimatum after its congress met on
Tuesday, September 8, 2026, to review its earlier resolution of August 24 and
assess the state government’s commitment to resolving issues surrounding the
non-payment of members’ entitlements.
According to a press release signed by the ASUU-SSU
Chairman, Bello Musa, PhD, and Secretary, Comrade Zulkallaini Shehu, the
government, through the Ministry for Higher Education, met with the union on
September 7.
The union said the meeting resulted in an agreement that its
demands would be addressed within two weeks, while the ministry promised to
communicate the demands to the Visitor and Executive Governor of Sokoto State.0:00
However, ASUU expressed reservations about the fresh
promise, citing what it described as previous failures by the government to
honour agreements reached with the union.
The union recalled that some of its demands were captured in
an agreement reached with the government on March 4, 2024, while issues
relating to the ASUU/FGN Agreement 2025 and other outstanding matters were
again discussed in an agreement reached through the Ministry for Higher
Education on April 28, 2026.
It said the government had partially implemented the salary
component of the agreement after the expiration of the agreed period.
The union acknowledged the development, noting that Sokoto
State University became the first state university in the North-West to
partially implement the salary component of the agreement.
It, however, said several other components remained unpaid
“Other components of the Agreement such as payment of
outstanding Earned Academic Allowance (EAA), non-remittance of the outstanding
third-party deductions, outstanding promotion arrears, outstanding arrears for
25%-35% salary components, and accumulated annual increment arrears have not
been paid,” the union stated.
Despite its concerns, the congress resolved to accept the
latest government offer and allow the two-week timeframe for the authorities to
act.
ASUU-SSU warned that failure to fulfil the promises within
the stipulated period would lead to industrial action capable of disrupting
academic activities at the university.
“Failure to address the union’s demands as promised after
the expiration of the two-week deadline, the union resolved to embark on an
action that will disrupt all academic activities in the university including
statutory meetings where our members are involved,” it warned.
The union listed five key demands expected to be addressed
within the two-week period.
They include the proper and complete implementation of the
salary component of the ASUU/FGN Agreement 2025, payment of outstanding EAA,
remittance of outstanding third-party deductions, payment of arrears arising
from the 25–35 per cent salary increment, and settlement of accumulated
promotion arrears.
ASUU-SSU also appealed to the people of Sokoto State to
prevail on the government to honour its commitments in order to maintain a
sustainable and harmonious industrial relationship at the university.
The union expressed hope that the government would fulfil
the latest promise and avert a fresh disruption of academic activities.
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