Following the government’s failure to implement the 2025 FGN agreement, lecturers at Lagos State University (LASU) have voted unanimously to commence an immediate, comprehensive and indefinite strike, throwing higher education across the state into complete disarray and leaving tens of thousands of students facing an uncertain academic future.

The industrial action, declared following an emergency congress on Tuesday, marks the total shutdown of all three state-owned universities in Lagos. It comes after months of mounting frustration over the government’s persistent refusal to implement the 2025 agreement struck between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Federal Government.

In a joint statement issued shortly after the congress, Dr Oluwaseun Babalola and Dr Thanny Nooem, coordinator and secretary respectively of the ASUU-LASU steering committee, accused the authorities of pushing academic staff into a corner despite repeated attempts to resolve the dispute through dialogue.

“This unfortunate and avoidable action has become necessary due to the continued failure of the government to address the union’s longstanding agitation,” the committee said. “The union has waited patiently and made several attempts to constructively engage the government in good faith. However, the prolonged delay and lack of concrete action have left the union with no option.”

The declaration means all academic activities, including lectures, examinations, research supervision and administrative duties have ceased with immediate effect.

Union leaders stressed that the strike would remain total and comprehensive until the state government moves to fully domesticate and enforce the terms of the 2025 accord.

The closure of LASU represents the final collapse of state university operations in Lagos, where neighboring state-funded institutions are already shuttered due to unresolved labor disputes.

Student bodies and parent associations expressed immediate concern over the development, warning that prolonged closures threaten to further erode confidence in Nigeria’s public university system, which has long suffered from chronic underfunding, infrastructure deficits and recurring pay disputes.

The state ministry of education had not yet issued a response to the strike declaration. With union leaders insisting that only full implementation of the agreement will secure a return to work, the prospect of a swift resolution appears increasingly remote.