UNIZIK ASUU Declares Indefinite Strike, Activates 'No Pay, No Work' Over Incomplete August Salary

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka chapter, has commenced an indefinite strike over the non-payment of full August 2026 salaries to its members, activating what it described as a "no pay, no work" industrial action at the institution.

The decision was reached at an ASUU-UNIZIK congress held on Monday, September 7, 2026, in Awka, where the union resolved to withdraw its services in compliance with a standing resolution of the ASUU National Executive Council (NEC) on non-payment of salaries. According to that NEC resolution, all branches of the union are empowered to withdraw services whenever salaries remain unpaid after the third day of the following month.

In a press statement jointly signed by the ASUU-UNIZIK Chairperson, Innocent Nnubia, and Secretary, Osita Nnajiofor, and released to journalists on Monday, the union stated plainly: "Today is 7th September 2026 and the University has not paid complete salary for the month of August to our members." The statement added that the shortfall marked more than the third occasion on which members had experienced what it called an "ugly and frustrating" delay or incomplete payment of their salaries.

The union called on both the university authorities and the institution's Visitor, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to urgently address the situation by ensuring the complete payment of the August 2026 salary to all affected members, and to take steps to prevent a recurrence of the issue going forward.

Following the congress resolution, all ASUU-UNIZIK members were directed to immediately withdraw both academic and administrative services at the university. The union stated that the withdrawal of services would subsist until the complete payment of the August 2026 salary is made to all members, leaving the strike's duration directly tied to the resolution of the outstanding payment.

When contacted for a reaction, the Director of Information and Public Relations at UNIZIK, Aloysius Attah, declined to comment on the development, telling journalists simply, "No comment."

According to some accounts of the dispute, the incomplete salary disbursements have been linked to broader anomalies in the August payroll process, with some reports pointing to delays attributed to the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation despite functional payment platforms, though the university itself has not issued any public explanation for the shortfall.

The immediate suspension of academic and administrative activities is expected to affect UNIZIK's student population directly, with lectures, continuous assessments, and statutory faculty board meetings suspended indefinitely pending resolution of the dispute, raising concerns about potential extensions to the current academic calendar.

The UNIZIK strike adds to a broader wave of industrial disputes affecting Nigerian public universities in recent weeks, with ASUU branches at institutions including Nasarawa State University, Imo State University, and Plateau State University having also recently declared indefinite strikes over related welfare grievances, chiefly the non-implementation of the 2025 FGN-ASUU agreement and unpaid wage award arrears. While the UNIZIK dispute centres specifically on an incomplete salary payment rather than the broader agreement implementation issues driving those other strikes, it reflects a similar underlying pattern of recurring payroll and welfare disputes disrupting academic calendars at Nigerian public universities throughout 2026.

As of the time of this report, neither the university management nor the Federal Government had issued a public statement addressing the specific payroll shortfall raised by ASUU-UNIZIK, leaving the strike's duration, and the timeline for resumption of academic activities at the institution, uncertain.