The Academic Staff Union of Universities has confirmed reaching an agreement with the Nigerian government and says it is cautiously hopeful the deal will be honoured. The union stressed that trust remains fragile after years of failed commitments by past administrations.
ASUU President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, said the agreement was recently concluded and that further talks would be held early in January with the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa. He explained that the meeting would focus on securing firm government commitment to implementing the agreement.
Piwuna said ASUU expects the current administration to act differently from previous governments that signed agreements but failed to implement them. He noted that past Memoranda of Understanding and Memoranda of Action were repeatedly ignored, fuelling distrust and industrial disputes.
According to him, the union showed restraint throughout the negotiation process and agreed that implementation would begin in January 2026. He expressed concern that the government must not start the new year by reneging on its promises or introducing excuses.
The agreement follows years of stalled negotiations over a pact originally signed in 2009. That agreement, which should have been renegotiated periodically, became the root of a prolonged dispute lasting more than a decade.
Sources familiar with the deal said the new terms include a 40 percent salary increase for university academics. The agreement also provides for the creation of a National Research Council with statutory funding of at least one percent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product.
Under the agreement, professors will earn pensions equivalent to their annual salaries upon retirement at age 70. The deal also commits the government to greater university autonomy, stronger academic freedom, and increased funding for research, libraries, laboratories, equipment, and staff development.
The breakthrough came after a sixth renegotiation committee, inaugurated in October, completed the harmonisation of all outstanding issues. The committee was led by the Pro-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Yayale Ahmed.
ASUU had previously accused the government of repeatedly setting up negotiation panels without signing or implementing their recommendations. Several earlier committees, dating back to 2017, produced draft agreements that were never acted upon, triggering repeated strikes.
With the latest agreement signed, ASUU says it will now judge the government by its actions, not promises, as Nigerian universities await lasting stability.
