FG–ASUU agreement was formally unveiled on Wednesday as the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities announced a renegotiated deal aimed at ending recurring strikes and prolonged university closures. The agreement seeks to stabilise Nigeria’s tertiary education system after years of disruption.
The 2025 pact concludes a renegotiation process that began in 2017 to review the 2009 FG–ASUU agreement, which was due for renewal in 2012. Several previous efforts under different administrations collapsed before the current government achieved a breakthrough.
The new agreement was finalised about 14 months after the inauguration of a renegotiation committee led by Yayale Ahmed in October 2024. It focuses on improved welfare, university autonomy, funding, academic freedom, and structural reforms designed to curb brain drain and revive the sector.
A key provision is a 40 percent increase in salaries for academic staff in federal universities, effective January 1, 2026. The new pay structure combines the Consolidated University Academic Staff Salary with a Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance.
The tools allowance is meant to support research, journal publications, conferences, internet access, and book procurement. The agreement also restructures nine earned academic allowances, linking payments strictly to duties such as supervision, fieldwork, examinations, clinical work, and leadership roles.
For the first time, a Professorial Cadre Allowance was approved. Full professors will earn N1.74 million annually, while readers will receive N840,000, a move described as a long-term structural intervention.
Education Minister Dr. Tunji Alausa said the agreement reflects President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to uninterrupted academic calendars. He described it as a turning point built on dialogue and reform rather than conflict.
ASUU President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, welcomed the deal but warned that serious challenges remain. He cited weak university autonomy, governance failures, poor research funding, and Nigeria’s broader economic crisis as threats to sustainability.
ASUU urged faithful implementation of the agreement, stressing that unresolved national and institutional issues could still undermine stability, while expressing hope that strikes would no longer be necessary.
