The Federal Government has directed vice-chancellors of all federal universities to implement the “no work, no pay” policy against members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) currently participating in the nationwide strike.
The instruction was contained in a circular dated October 13, 2025, signed by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, and obtained by PUNCH.
According to the document, the directive was circulated to several key government offices, including the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Permanent Secretary of Education, Pro-Chancellors of federal universities, the Director-General of the Budget Office, the Accountant-General of the Federation, and the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC).
The Ministry of Education expressed concern over ASUU’s prolonged industrial action despite numerous dialogue efforts, stressing that the government would no longer tolerate any violation of labour laws.
It reaffirmed that the “no work, no pay” rule remains effective and must be fully applied across all affected universities.
“In line with the provisions of the Labour Laws of the Federation, the Federal Government reiterates its position on the enforcement of the ‘No Work, No Pay’ policy in respect of any employee who fails to discharge his or her official duties during the period of strike action,” the circular reads.
Minister Alausa further directed all vice-chancellors to conduct a physical verification and roll call of academic staff to determine those actively performing their duties and those participating in the strike.
He instructed that salaries be withheld for staff who are absent or not fulfilling their official responsibilities, while members of the Congress of University Academics (CONUA) and the National Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA), who are not part of the strike, will continue to receive their full pay.
The NUC has also been tasked with monitoring the enforcement of the directive and submitting a compliance report to the ministry within seven days.
Alausa concluded by urging the university heads to act swiftly and responsibly, saying the matter should be treated “with utmost urgency and a deep sense of responsibility in the national interest.”