ASUU North-East backs Taraba varsity strike, asks Gov Kefas to implement 2025 agreement
- ASUU Yola Zone declared solidarity with striking lecturers of Taraba State University, Jalingo.
- The union says Taraba is the only northern state yet to implement the 2025 FG/ASUU agreement.
- It urged Governor Agbu Kefas to pay outstanding arrears and stop further verification exercises.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Yola Zone, has thrown its weight behind the strike by lecturers of Taraba State University (TSU), Jalingo, and called on Governor Agbu Kefas to implement the 2025 Federal Government/ASUU agreement without further delay.
The union made the call on Tuesday during a visit to the university, with its zonal coordinator, Comrade Dani Mamman, saying the Taraba State Government had failed to honour the remuneration framework agreed with lecturers.
Mamman said the continued refusal was a breach of an agreement and a disregard for the welfare of academic staff. He described the strike as justified.
What the union is asking for
ASUU Yola Zone wants the state government to fully implement the 2025 agreement, which is dated December 23, 2025 and was circulated by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission on December 30, 2025.
The agreement covers Basic CONUASS, Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance, Professorial Allowance, Earned Academic Allowances and responsibility allowances for positions such as deans, heads of department and hall wardens.
The union also demanded the immediate payment of all accumulated arrears, based on the financial computation submitted by the tripartite committee, and strict adherence to the agreed payment template.
It asked the state government to engage meaningfully with the TSU branch of ASUU to end the strike.
According to the union, a fact-finding team set up by the Taraba State Government had established that universities visited during a verification exercise had fully implemented the agreement. The report was presented to the union on September 24, 2026, after the exercise began in August.
ASUU said it was worried that the government was still computing salaries and reportedly considering three implementation options of 95 per cent, 98 per cent and 100 per cent, even after the verification and financial assessment had been concluded.
Mamman said Taraba State University was one of the very few universities, and possibly the only one among the 19 northern states, yet to implement the agreement. He warned that the delay could hurt staff retention and the university's ability to attract qualified lecturers.
The ASUU Yola Zone covers seven public university branches in Adamawa, Borno, Taraba and Yobe states. They are Adamawa State University, Mubi; Federal University Gashua; Kashim Ibrahim University, Maiduguri; Modibbo Adama University, Yola; Taraba State University, Jalingo; University of Maiduguri; and Yobe State University, Damaturu.
The union appealed to stakeholders and the public to prevail on the state government to honour the agreement and bring the dispute to a timely end.
What happens next
The union has asked the state government to implement the agreement without further consultations, committees or verification exercises, and to pay all accumulated arrears.
It also wants the government to open talks with the TSU branch of ASUU to resolve the dispute.
