The Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Wednesday unveiled a renegotiated agreement aimed at ending recurrent strikes and prolonged closures of public universities across Nigeria.
The 2025 agreement concludes a renegotiation process that began in 2017 to review the 2009 FG–ASUU pact, which was due for revision in 2012 but stalled for years under successive administrations.
Several earlier renegotiation committees chaired by Wale Babalakin, Munzali Jibrin and Nimi Briggs failed to produce a final agreement. Progress was, however, recorded under the current administration following the inauguration of a new committee led by Yayale Ahmed in October 2024.
After about 14 months of talks, both parties reached a deal addressing key issues such as lecturers’ welfare, university funding, autonomy, academic freedom and reforms to curb brain drain and revive the tertiary education sector.
A major highlight of the agreement is a 40 per cent upward review of the salaries of academic staff in federal universities, effective January 1, 2026. Under the new structure, salaries will consist of the Consolidated University Academic Staff Salary and a Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance, which accounts for the increment.
The tools allowance is intended to support research, journal publications, conference participation, internet access, professional memberships and book procurement, with the aim of improving productivity and retaining academic talent.
The agreement also restructures nine earned academic allowances, linking payments strictly to duties performed, including postgraduate supervision, fieldwork, clinical duties, examinations and administrative responsibilities.
In addition, the Federal Government approved a new Professorial Cadre Allowance for senior academics. Under the scheme, professors will receive ₦1.74m annually, while readers will earn ₦840,000 per year.
Speaking at the unveiling in Abuja, the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, described the agreement as a turning point in Nigeria’s tertiary education system and a demonstration of the Federal Government’s commitment to uninterrupted academic calendars.
Alausa said President Bola Tinubu personally drove the process, noting that it marked the first time a sitting president had taken full ownership of resolving the long-standing FG–ASUU dispute.
He said decades of unresolved welfare issues had fuelled repeated industrial actions, but stressed that the current administration chose dialogue and reform over confrontation and delay.
“This agreement ushers in a new era of stability, dignity and excellence in our universities,” the minister said, pledging faithful implementation under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
ASUU, while welcoming the agreement, cautioned that deep-rooted structural, governance and socio-economic challenges still threaten the sustainability of the university system.
ASUU President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, said the prolonged renegotiation reflected what he described as a lack of sincerity by past governments, noting that the 2009 agreement should have been reviewed years earlier.
He acknowledged the significance of the new deal but said it did not fully address issues such as weak university autonomy, declining academic standards, inadequate research funding and the country’s broader economic crisis.
Piwuna also criticised government interference in the affairs of universities, particularly in the appointment of vice-chancellors and the dissolution of governing councils, warning that such actions undermine meritocracy and fuel internal conflicts.
On funding, ASUU reiterated concerns about poor research financing, warning that without sustained investment, Nigerian universities risk becoming teaching-only institutions detached from innovation and national development.
The union also raised concerns over accountability in university administration, alleged financial mismanagement by some vice-chancellors, and what it termed a growing “consultancy syndrome” in the university system.
Beyond education, ASUU linked the success of the agreement to Nigeria’s worsening economic conditions, citing insecurity, inflation, currency devaluation and rising living costs as threats to both staff welfare and students’ access to higher education.
While expressing willingness to work with the Federal Government, the union said its optimism about full implementation of the agreement remains guarded, adding that it hopes strike action will not be necessary to enforce compliance.
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