Lagos universities workers begin indefinite strike

LAGOS — Teaching and non-teaching staff of Lagos State government-owned universities have commenced an indefinite strike over what they described as unmet demands and the state government’s failure to implement agreements reached with the unions.

The workers, under the aegis of the Joint Action Committee of Workers of Lagos State-owned Universities, announced the decision on Friday during a press briefing.

The unions involved are the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) and Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Allied Institutions (NASU).

The affected institutions are Lagos State University (LASU), Lagos State University of Education (LASUED), Lagos State University of Science and Technology (LASUSTECH) and Lagos State University College of Medicine (LASUCOM).

Speaking on behalf of the unions, JAC Chairman, Prof. Ibraheem Bakare, said the workers had demonstrated patience and commitment to dialogue but were compelled to take industrial action after exhausting available channels for resolving the disputes.

“We have demonstrated unprecedented patience, maturity, and commitment to peaceful dialogue,” Bakare said.

“However, our patience has been pushed to the absolute limit. We have exhausted every possible administrative channel to avert this crisis.”

The unions said their demands included the full implementation of the signed 2025 Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN)/unions agreement across the four institutions.

They also demanded a one-off payment of nine months’ accumulated arrears covering January to September 2026, adherence to the agreed non-taxable status of negotiated allowances and implementation of a 15 per cent “Lagos Factor” allowance to cushion the impact of the high cost of living in the state.

Other demands include implementation of previous commitments by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, including a 20 per cent salary increase pledged in 2023 and the provision of five Marcopolo buses for student and staff transportation.

Bakare said the unions considered their demands legitimate and within the financial capacity of the state government.

He said the workers remained open to intervention by the governor before the strike deadline.

“We remain open to immediate executive action before the midnight deadline tonight,” he said.

Bakare, however, warned that the unions would not resume work unless all the demands were addressed.

He said leaving any of the demands unattended would undermine the agreements and prevent the workers from calling off the industrial action.

The unions expressed disappointment that some states with fewer financial resources had commenced implementation of similar agreements, questioning why Lagos State should be an exception.

They also accused the state government of applying different standards to workers, alleging that core civil servants in the state had continued to enjoy allowances and other benefits that university workers were being denied.

The unions said only immediate intervention by the governor could avert a prolonged disruption of academic and administrative activities in the affected institutions.