• NANS warns govs against another varsity shutdown
• Nigeria left 706,418 tertiary admission spaces unfilled in 2025, says report

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has authorised 20 universities to begin processes for industrial action over the alleged failure of the Federal Government and state governments to implement the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement.

The decision, contained in the resolutions of the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held at the University of Abuja on August 8 and 9, 2026, directs the affected branches to first issue a 14-day ultimatum before proceeding on strike to press home their demands.

A statement signed by ASUU President, Prof. Christopher Piwuna, late Monday, announced that an emergency NEC meeting would be convened at the end of August or early September 2026 to take further decisions, ‘without prejudice to the decisions taken so far’.

The affected institutions are Nasarawa State University, Keffi; Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai; University of Medical Sciences, Ondo; Gombe State University; Plateau State University, Bokkos; Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba; Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma; Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa; Abia State University, Uturu; and University of Education and Entrepreneurship, Akamkpa.

Others are Emmanuel Alayande University of Education, Oyo; Kaduna State University; Kano State University of Science and Technology, Wudil; Northwest University Kano; Enugu State University of Science and Technology; Imo State University; Niger Delta University; University of Africa, Toru-Orua; Bayelsa Medical University; and Taraba State University, Jalingo.

ASUU said the affected branches would embark on the strike after the expiration of the ultimatum, while noting that branches in the Sokoto Zone had already issued a two-week ultimatum.

The union said the decision was prompted by what it described as the “haphazard implementation” of the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement and the “lackadaisical attitude” of the Federal Government towards releasing subvention needed to fully implement the agreement.

MEANWHILE, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has warned state governors against allowing disputes over the implementation of the 2025 Federal Government-Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) agreement to plunge universities into another round of industrial crisis.

NANS, in a statement signed by its President, Akinteye Afeez, said Nigerian students would no longer accept being made to bear the consequences of disagreements between university authorities, state governments and academic staff.

According to the association, repeated strikes have subjected students to prolonged academic disruptions, delayed graduation and extended programmes, with serious psychological and academic consequences.

THE looming ASUU strike came after it was reported that no fewer than 706,418 approved admission spaces in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions remained unfilled in 2025, even as millions of young Nigerians sought admission into higher institutions. The report is contained in a policy brief by the iRead To Live Initiative.

It said 1,009,736 of 1,716,154 approved admission places were filled nationally during the 2025 admission cycle, leaving 706,418 places vacant.

The figures represent an overall 58.8 per cent fill rate, indicating that more than 40 per cent of the approved admission capacity was not utilised.

The findings are contained in the August 2026 policy brief titled “The Admissions Gap: Who Gets into Nigeria’s Tertiary Institutions, and Why It Matters,” authored by the Executive Director of the iRead To Live Initiative, Jacob Sule.

The policy brief is the inaugural publication of the iRead To Live Initiative as a higher education policy think tank.

The organisation said the research was independently produced and was not funded or commissioned by any government agency, tertiary institution or commercial organisation.

However, the policy brief noted that the 2026 admission cycle had not been finalised when the report was prepared, and therefore the 2026 registration figure could not be directly compared with the completed 2025 admission figures.

The report attributed the situation to a structural mismatch between the location of approved admission spaces and what candidates want, qualify for and can realistically reach.

The iRead To Live Initiative recommended that JAMB publish privacy-protected admissions and performance data disaggregated by state, local government area, geopolitical zone, gender, subject and institution.