Gombe Varsity ASUU Withdraws From Duties Over Salary Reduction
The Academic Staff Union of Universities, Federal University Kashere Branch, known as ASUU-FUK, has started an Active Non-Compliance action. The union said the Federal Government unlawfully reduced the salaries of its members. It said the salary cut broke an agreement that had already been reached and put into use.
Active Non-Compliance, also called ANC, is a form of industrial action. It is not the same as a full strike because the union has not declared a complete strike. Under ANC, ASUU members stop carrying out selected official duties. They remain members of the university, but they withdraw their work from the affected areas until the problem is settled.
ASUU-FUK said it took the action because attempts to solve the salary matter with the university management did not work. The branch also said it was acting on an order from the National Executive Council of ASUU, known as NEC. This means the decision did not come from the branch alone; it followed a wider union directive.
The branch announced the action in a statement signed by its Chairperson, Dr Salihu Adam Jidda. The statement was released to journalists in Gombe on Friday night. According to the union, members agreed to begin ANC during an emergency branch congress held on August 13, 2026.
The dispute is linked to the 2025 Federal Government/ASUU agreement. ASUU-FUK said the agreement was put into effect in universities across Nigeria in January 2026. The government had issued a circular for universities to follow, and the agreement was then used across the university system.
However, the union said the salaries of its members were reduced in July 2026. It described the reduction as a clear breach of the 2025 agreement. In simple terms, ASUU-FUK believes that the government failed to keep the promise it had made to university teachers.
The union said the pay cut has caused serious money problems for its members. Academic staff have bills, family needs and work costs like other people, and therefore, receiving less than the agreed salary has placed more pressure on them. The branch also said the cut has weakened the ability of its members to carry out their duties well.
Before starting the action, ASUU-FUK said it tried to solve the problem through peaceful talks. The branch wrote to the Vice-Chancellor and also held physical meetings with the Vice-Chancellor. It presented the salary issue and asked for a solution, but the letters and meetings did not lead to any agreement or clear end to the dispute.
After those efforts failed, the branch activated the NEC directive on Active Non-Compliance. The union said its branch was among those ordered to take this step under a decision reached at the pre-NEC meeting held in Benin in 2025.
The statement said,
“Consequently, and in line with directives issued by the National Executive Council (NEC), our branch has been placed among those required to activate Active Non-Compliance (ANC), a resolution of the pre-NEC meeting in Benin in 2025.”
The action took effect on August 13, 2026. From that date, ASUU-FUK members were directed to stop teaching and withdraw from several academic and administrative duties. The withdrawal will remain in place until the salary dispute is resolved.
Teaching is one of the main duties affected by the action. Members will not prepare examinations or take part in marking students’ work. They will also stop carrying out administrative duties connected to their university positions.
Research supervision is also affected. ASUU-FUK members will not supervise research carried out by undergraduate students. They will also stop supervising postgraduate research. This means students working on projects, theses or other academic research may not receive the normal guidance from affected lecturers while the action continues.
Members have also been told not to attend statutory university meetings or serve on university committees during the ANC action. These meetings and committees are part of the official system used to make decisions and run the university. By withdrawing from them, the lecturers are stopping both classroom work and important work behind the classroom.
The union also directed its members to suspend every other official engagement covered by the action. It warned that any member who continues with such duties during the ANC period may be treated as taking part in anti-union activity. The branch therefore expects members to follow the decision fully until it gives a new instruction.
ASUU-FUK called the decision “regrettable but necessary.” The union made it clear that it did not take joy in stopping these duties. However, it believes the action is needed to make the Federal Government honour the 2025 agreement and return the full salaries of all affected members.
The branch said it remains committed to the welfare of students and to the integrity of Federal University Kashere. It knows the action may affect normal academic work, but it places responsibility for ending the disruption on the government and university management. It asked both sides to act quickly, address the pay cut and bring the dispute to an end.
ASUU-FUK also appealed directly to the Vice-Chancellor. It asked the Vice-Chancellor to send the union’s position to the proper organs of the university so that those responsible would understand the seriousness of the matter.
The branch further asked the university not to punish, threaten or victimise any member for taking part in the action. It said its members are using their lawful trade union rights and should be allowed to do so without fear.
Despite the anger and strain caused by the salary reduction, the union said it hopes for a quick and fair solution. It wants the full salaries restored, the 2025 agreement respected and normal academic activities allowed to begin again.