LASU Shut Down As Workers Lock Gates, Senate Building In Total Compliance With Indefinite Strike
LASU Shut Down As Workers Lock Gates, Senate Building In Total Compliance With Indefinite Strike
However, it was partial compliance at the Lagos State University of Education (LASUED), where the gates were open and some workers were reportedly present in their offices.
Academic and administrative activities were on Monday paralysed at the Lagos State University (LASU) as non-teaching staff unions locked all gates leading to the university in total compliance with the indefinite strike declared by the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of staff unions in Lagos State-owned universities.
SaharaReporters learnt that school’s Senate building was also locked by the striking workers.
“Early today (Monday), the non-teaching staff union in LASU locked all the gates leading to the university,” a staff member of the university told SaharaReporters. “The university’s Senate building was equally locked down by the union.
locked lasu gate
“It was what can be likened to 100% compliance with the declared strike by the Joint Action Committee, comprising all the Lagos State-owned universities in the state.”
However, it was partial compliance at the Lagos State University of Education (LASUED), where the gates were open and some workers were reportedly present in their offices.
A member of the non-teaching staff said he showed up because he was not ready to lose his job, adding that he did not see the union as strong enough to protect his interests should the management decide to sanction striking workers.
Photographs and videos reviewed by SaharaReporters show workers enforcing the strike, with the Senate building and every gate to the campus locked.
Taskforce enforcing the strike action were also seen moving around the campus to ensure total compliance.
On October 3, SaharaReporters reported that an industrial crisis was set to paralyse academic and administrative activities across all four Lagos State-owned universities, as the JAC of staff unions declared an immediate, total and indefinite strike effective from midnight, Friday, October 2, 2026.
The decision, announced at a World Press Conference in Lagos, with a text made available to SaharaReporters on Saturday, followed the expiration of a final 7-day ultimatum issued to the Lagos State Government over its failure to implement the 2026 Federal Government/Staff Unions Agreements.
locked lasu gate
The JAC comprises the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT).
The strike affects Lagos State University (LASU), Lagos State University College of Medicine (LASUCOM), Lagos State University of Science and Technology (LASUSTECH) and Lagos State University of Education (LASUED).
Addressing journalists, JAC Chairman, Comrade Prof. Ibrahim Bakare, detailed a frustrating chronology of engagements with the state government, accusing officials of bureaucratic delays and shifting goalposts.
He stated that the unions had “exhausted every possible means to avert declaration of industrial action.”
The core of the dispute stems from the non-implementation of a communiqué signed on 31st August 2026.
According to the JAC, both parties had mutually agreed on a technical committee consensus on August 18, which included a 40% Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance (CATA) and 10% Earned Academic Allowance (EAA) for ASUU; a 35% Consolidated Tertiary Institutions Non-Teaching Staff Allowance (CONTTA) and 35% hazard allowance for NASU and SSANU; and a commitment to immediate implementation with the August or September 2026 salary and the payment of eight months’ arrears backdated to January 1, 2026.
Bakare alleged that a communiqué signing scheduled for August 24 was sabotaged when government officials reverted to previously rejected figures of 30% and 35%.
A formal appeal to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu salvaged the process, leading to the signed agreement on August 31.
“However, the month of September 2026 has drawn to a close, and September salaries were paid without the implementation of the agreed rates and the outstanding arrears,” Bakare said.
He noted that the arrears have now accumulated to nine full months.
The JAC has put forward five core demands to the state government: immediate executive approval and implementation of the signed 2026 agreements; a one-off payment of nine months’ arrears (January to September 2026); strict compliance with the non-taxable terms on all negotiated allowances; implementation of the 15% “Lagos Factor” to address the high cost of living; and fulfilment of other outstanding commitments, including a 20% salary increment promised during the 2023 election campaign and the release of five buses.
The unions expressed deep disappointment, stating that their patience has been “pushed to the absolute limit.”
They called on citizens, traditional rulers, parents and students to hold the Lagos State Government responsible for any disruption to the academic calendar that will follow the strike.
