After more than 16 years of stalled negotiations and recurring industrial disputes, the Federal Government of Nigeria has formally approved a 40 per cent salary increase for academic staff in federal universities.
The new agreement comes with improved pensions, a new funding framework, and the introduction of a Professorial Head Allowance for the first time.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed this at the unveiling of the agreements between the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in Abuja yesterday.
The minister identified key provisions of the new federal agreement to include a 40 per cent salary increase as part of efforts to improve welfare and address long-standing remuneration concerns, and an improved pension structure where professors will now retire at the age of 70 with pensions equivalent to their final annual salary.
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Leadership reports that the agreement also introduces a new funding structure with dedicated allocations for research, laboratories, libraries, equipment, infrastructure development, and staff training.
In the new agreement, a National Research Council is to be established with statutory funding of at least one per cent of Nigeria's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to strengthen research, innovation, and development in universities.
Alausa said, "For the first time in the history of this country, a sitting president took full control, full ownership of this long-standing challenge that confronted the educational system and accorded its leadership attention to getting us to where we are today.
"For decades, unresolved remuneration concerns, welfare gaps and recurring industrial disputes disrupted academic calendars, undermined staff morale, and threatened the future of our young citizens.
"Under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, we deliberately chose dialogue over discord, reform over delay, and resolution over rhetoric. This agreement, we are making a promise to you today, was effective from 1st January, 2026.
"The key components include the emoluments of university academic staff, which have been reviewed upward by 40 per cent to enhance morale, improve the quality of service delivery, and the global competitiveness of Nigeria's tertiary education institutions, and also to reverse brain drain.
"The salary structure will comprise the Converse and the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance," the minister said.
He added that the 40 per cent review would be represented by the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance and is peculiar to university academic staff.
"The Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance covers journal publications, conference participation, internet access, professional membership, and book allowances -- allowances which are critical tools required for effective teaching, research, and global academic competitiveness."
He emphasised that these allowances apply to senior academics at the level of full-time professors and leaders in tertiary institutions, noting clearly that these allowances apply strictly to full-time and not part-time professors and leaders.
According to him, the allowances are structured in such a way that a professor would earn an additional N1.8 million.
"It is structural, practical, and transformative," he said.
The education minister praised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his "unwavering commitment, hands-on guidance, and steadfast belief in education as a national investment," which made this achievement possible.
"Today, we have moved quickly, decisively, to implementing this agreement. May this agreement strengthen our tertiary educational institutions, inspire our academics and secure the future of our nation," he added.
LEADERSHIP recalls that in 2009, the Federal Government and ASUU signed an agreement aimed at improving funding, welfare, university autonomy, and academic standards in federal universities.
The agreement was supposed to be reviewed in 2012, but this review did not happen, leading to years of industrial disputes, strikes, and stalled implementation.
ASUU repeatedly cited non-implementation of key clauses including revitalisation funding, earned academic allowances, and improved conditions of service as reasons for numerous strikes.
Due to continued non-implementation and recurrent university shutdowns, the Federal Government instituted multiple renegotiation committees from 2017 onwards. These committees were tasked with renegotiating the 2009 agreement in line with contemporary realities.
The final and successful round of negotiation culminated in December 2025, under the leadership of Mallam Yayale Ahmed, then chairman of the Federal Government-ASUU Renegotiation Team, which was formalised yesterday.
In his reaction, the president of ASUU, Prof Chris Piwuna, expressed happiness that the union had reached an agreement with the Federal Government 16 years after the last agreement was signed.
According to him, the 2009 agreement was due for renegotiation in 2012, but it dragged on due to the poverty of sincerity in government.
"The 2025 Renegotiated Agreement is the outcome of a prolonged renegotiation process initiated in 2017 to review the 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement, to revitalise Nigeria's university system.
"You will recall that the struggle for the renegotiation led to the formation of Wale Babalakin's Renegotiation Committee in 2017 by the previous government. Then, the same government inaugurated Munzali Jibrin's Renegotiation Committee in 2021.
"This was followed by the inauguration of another Renegotiation Committee in 2022 that was chaired by Nimi Briggs. The struggle from 2017 to 2022 could not produce a collective bargaining agreement.
"This government inaugurated Yayale Ahmed's Renegotiation Committee in October 2024. An agreement was reached about 14 months after the inauguration and we are here to witness the agreement.
"The agreement focuses on conditions of service, funding, university autonomy and academic freedom, and other systemic reforms to reverse decay, curb brain drain, and reposition universities for national development," Piwuna said.
The ASUU president lauded the commitment of Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, other members of the Renegotiation Team, the minister, and the President for their commitment to the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement.
However, ASUU said there are still pending issues, mainly internal, that are dragging the progress and survival of the university system.
He cited persistent government encroachment on university autonomy. University autonomy is universally recognised as a cornerstone of a functional higher education system.
"In Nigeria, although university autonomy is recognised in principle and partially entrenched in law, its practical implementation remains weak.
"The Governing Council is legally the highest decision-making body of a Nigerian university, responsible for policy direction, financial oversight, and appointment of principal officers.
"In practice, however, councils are often subordinated to the whims of government authorities. A recurring problem is the arbitrary dissolution or suspension of governing councils by the Federal or State Governments and reckless intervention in the appointment of vice-chancellors.
"Such actions send a clear message that councils exist at the pleasure of the government, not as independent statutory bodies. There have been instances where governing councils' recommendations were rejected by the Visitor/Ministry. Preferred candidates were imposed despite not emerging as the best-ranked by selection panels," he added.
He also lamented that Nigerian universities have faced a paucity of research funding for a very long time.
"I am glad that research and development funding is a component of the 2025 ASUU-FG renegotiated agreement. It was agreed that the National Research Council (NRC) Bill shall be forwarded to the National Assembly for consideration.
"The proposed Bill shall provide for at least 1 per cent equivalent of GDP as a source of funding for research, innovation, and development. It is my belief that, as stakeholders, the members of the National Assembly will expedite action in passing the Bill."
He lamented that across the universities, there are documented instances where vice-chancellors (VCs) have been accused of mismanaging public resources, ranging from alleged corruption and contract irregularities to financial recklessness.
"These cases are not isolated anecdotes but mirror deeper governance weaknesses in the sector, where autonomy, accountability, and administrative culture intersect with personal conduct and institutional oversight.
"Our universities are now run by consultants! It has become a clean way of 'cleansing' funds fought for by our union. The federal ministry is not innocent of the 'Consultancy Syndrome' in government cycles. Unfortunately, many councils are themselves politicised and compromised, making them ineffective watchdogs," he concluded.
Experts, Students Hail Deal, Demand Sincerity and Full Implementation
Meanwhile, experts and students have commended the newly formalised agreement between the two parties, describing it as a landmark step towards improving the welfare of academic staff.
However, they called for honesty, transparency, and full implementation to ensure that the long-awaited provisions translate into tangible benefits for lecturers and the wider education sector.
Prof Dagi Uzziah Dagi, an academic in the English Department at Benue State University (BSU), now Reverend Father Moses Orshio Adasu University (MOAUM), said the proposed agreement between ASUU and the Federal Government is a positive step after 16 years of negotiations.
According to him, the 40 per cent salary increase is a meaningful attempt to address academic staff grievances. However, he cautioned that lasting resolution depends on full, good-faith implementation, noting that past agreements failed due to poor execution and lack of trust.
"The proposed agreement is a significant and welcome development, especially after more than 16 years of protracted negotiations. A 40 per cent salary increase and other reported provisions suggest a genuine attempt to address some of the long-standing grievances of academic staff.
"However, while this agreement may reduce tensions and restore short-term stability, it may not completely end the industrial relations crisis unless it is fully implemented in good faith. Past agreements failed largely due to poor execution, inconsistent government commitment, and lack of trust between parties."
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He urged both the government and ASUU to prioritise sincerity, accountability, student interests, and continuous dialogue to achieve sustainable stability in Nigeria's public universities.
"The government must prioritise timely implementation and adequate funding of the university system, while ASUU should continue to engage constructively, keeping students' interests central.
"Sustainable peace will only be achieved through continuous dialogue, transparency, and a shared commitment to revitalising Nigeria's public universities," he added.
On its part, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) said the new ASUU-Federal Government agreement is a positive development that could stabilise and properly fund education.
The spokesperson of NANS, Comrade Adeyemi Samson, said it will motivate lecturers, improve teaching, learning, and research, and resolve over 16 years of stalled negotiations.
Adeyemi urged both parties to act sincerely, implement the agreement fully, and suggested that a comprehensive, publicised new agreement including past provisions and parliamentary oversight would ensure accountability and prevent delays caused by bureaucratic inefficiencies.
"We believe that will change the narratives of what we are having today in terms of education, campuses, the non-chalant attitudes of the lecturers and the likes.
"This will motivate them and give them a renewed commitment to do their best and also on the part of ASUU, we believe that this will also solve the over 16 years of stalled negotiations and bring about a fresh breath to their cause as well and their struggles.
"So we believe this is a new development and it is on the right course and we applaud both the Federal Government for their success and their effort and also the part of ASUU for agreeing and reaching a consensus on the way forward.
"Also, the message to both parties is that they must be sincere. Each party should fulfil their part."
He called for a new agreement that penalises any side who fails to keep their own part of the bargain.
"So we want the government to be sincere to it and to allow bureaucratic deficiencies and the likes not to stall or affect it, and ASUU should also try as much as possible to play their own part and make use of it in a good way and allow it to show in the output of students and the academic environment in the country," he added.
