Academic activities have resumed at the University of Jos following the suspension of a brief but disruptive strike by lecturers, just two days after they downed tools over unpaid salaries and withheld allowances.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities confirmed the development on Friday in a statement signed by the UNIJOS Branch Chairman, Prof. Jurbe Molwus, after confirming that March 2026 salaries had been paid to the majority of members.
The ASUU UNIJOS branch declared an immediate and indefinite withdrawal of services on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, citing the non-payment of March 2026 salaries and the persistent exclusion of Earned Academic Allowances from lecturers’ remuneration.
The union blamed the delay on the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, noting that the university’s own Bursary Department had already completed its part of the salary processing. The ASUU chairman was unequivocal when the strike began: “We are on strike, and we are not going to work until we are paid,” Molwus said.
The union also activated a strike monitoring team to enforce compliance across faculties, warning that “our patience is being taken for granted by those who are determined to frustrate industrial harmony.”
The standoff lasted less than 48 hours. ASUU disclosed that clearance for the salary payment had actually been issued by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation within hours of the strike commencing on April 8, with the union only learning of this subsequently.
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In its suspension statement, the ASUU chairman confirmed: “After careful evaluation, we have, by this morning, confirmed the payment of our salary for March 2026, as the majority of our members have received alerts based on reports from various faculties.” The union subsequently directed all lecturers to resume lectures, conduct examinations, and participate in statutory academic activities without delay.
The resumption, however, comes with a caveat. Despite the breakthrough on salary payments, ASUU expressed concern over the continued omission of the Earned Academic Allowance, describing it as a long-standing issue in negotiations between the union and the Federal Government. “We note with concern that the EAA component has still not been included in the payment of our salary for the month of March 2026,” the union stated, calling on the Federal Government to urgently release funds to ensure full implementation of the 2025 agreement aimed at stabilising the university system.
The UNIJOS episode reflects a recurring pattern in Nigeria’s public university system, where delays rooted in IPPIS processing bottlenecks at the Accountant-General’s office have repeatedly triggered localised ASUU actions, disrupting student academic calendars and reigniting questions about whether the federal government’s payroll management system is fit for purpose in managing university remuneration.
For now, the gates are open. But with the Earned Academic Allowance still unpaid and no structural fix in sight, the conditions that produced this strike remain intact.