ASUU's chapter at Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi, declares a total strike over unpaid salary allowances, halting all teaching, exams, and academic activity until arrears are cleared.
Makurdi, Benue State — August 12, 2026
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) chapter at Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi (JOSTUM), formerly the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, has declared a total and comprehensive strike with immediate effect over unpaid salary arrears.
The decision was announced in a statement by the union's chapter chairperson, Terseer Abari, following a congress held on Wednesday, August 12, at the university's Science Lecture Theatre, South Core. Branded "No-Pay-No-Work," the strike halts all teaching, student supervision, examinations, statutory meetings, and other academic activities until outstanding salaries are fully paid.
According to the union, the university administration has so far paid only two of the four salary components outlined in the 2025 Federal Governmen, ASUU agreement, the Consolidated Academic Staff Salaries and the Earned Academic Allowance. The remaining two components, the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance (CATA) and the Professorial Allowance, were last paid in January and February 2026, with only 39 percent of the March 2026 CATA disbursed since then.
The union described the shortfall as amounting to a systemic underpayment of its members' salaries, prompting the congress to activate a strike option authorized under a National Executive Council resolution passed on August 8–9.
The union's statement made clear that the strike is total, with no exceptions for ongoing academic processes, and will remain in effect until the university clears all outstanding salary obligations to ASUU members.
The action adds JOSTUM to a growing list of ASUU chapters nationwide raising similar concerns over unpaid allowances tied to the 2025 agreement, following a similar threat of an indefinite strike from the union's Gombe chapter over related demands.
As of this report, university management had not issued a public response to the strike declaration.
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