The Federal Government on Wednesday pledged to ensure the sustainability of the signed agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities, describing it as part of a broader strategy to transform Nigeria’s education sector and position the country for long-term development.

Earlier today, FG and ASUU unveiled a renegotiated agreement aimed at resolving long-standing disputes in Nigeria’s tertiary education sector.

The 2025 agreement marks the culmination of a renegotiation process initiated in 2017 to review the 2009 FG–ASUU pact, which was originally due for revision in 2012. Several committees set up under past administrations, chaired by Wale Babalakin, Munzali Jibrin, and Nimi Briggs, failed to deliver a final agreement.

The breakthrough came under the current administration, which inaugurated the Yayale Ahmed-led renegotiation committee in October 2024.

An agreement was reached approximately 14 months later, focusing on improved conditions of service, funding, university autonomy, academic freedom, and broader reforms to reverse sectoral decay, curb brain drain, and reposition universities for national development.

A major provision of the agreement is the upward review of the remuneration of academic staff in federal universities by 40 per cent, with effect from January 1, 2026. Under the new structure, salaries will comprise the Consolidated University Academic Staff Salary and a Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance, which accounts for the 40 per cent increment.

The tools allowance is designed to support core academic activities such as research, journal publications, conference participation, internet access, learned society membership, and book procurement, with the broader objective of boosting productivity and curbing brain drain.

The agreement also restructures nine earned academic allowances to promote transparency and fairness by tying payments strictly to duties performed. These include postgraduate supervision, fieldwork, clinical responsibilities, examination duties, and leadership roles within the university system.

In addition, FG approved a new Professorial Cadre Allowance for senior academics for the first time. Under this provision, full-time Professors will receive ₦1.74m annually, while Readers will earn ₦840,000 per annum, an intervention described by the government as a structural and transformative measure to recognise experience, enhance dignity, and strengthen the academic profession.

Speaking on Politics Today on Channels TV, the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, highlighted the historic nature of the agreement and emphasised that its implementation is already underway.

“The president came up with the Professorial Cadre Allowance himself. He said, ‘I’m meeting my commitment.’ And when you have a president who makes promises, he does so with the full intent and conviction of fulfilling them.

“When the president was convinced that he had the funding, he signed off. Today, we have the funding to support the 40% salary increase that we’ve given our lecturers in all our tertiary institutions.

“We started with ASUU today. The enhanced and academic allowances, nine of them in all, have been very structured now—well structured. The lecturers know, academics know who is paying: the one the universities will pay, and the one the federal government will pay via their personnel costs,” the minister said.

He assured that the agreement would be implemented sustainably, noting that funding has been secured and administrative structures put in place.

“Before today, we had already started implementation. The chairman of the National Salary Income and Wages Commission ensured the circular backing all welfare components was released,” Alausa said.

Beyond the immediate agreement, the government is pursuing a broader research and innovation agenda. The minister announced the inauguration of a drafting committee for a National Research Development Fund aimed at funding research, innovation, and commercialisation projects across Nigerian universities.

Alausa also assured that there will be fairness and stability in tertiary institutions.

“There will not be victimisation of lecturers. There is peace and harmony in tertiary institutions now,” he said.

Alausa also assured that the concerns of other unions, including the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics and the Non-Academic Staff Union, would be addressed.

“I can assure you that the ASUP and the NASU agreement will be finalised as well. Everyone will receive a fair deal. However, we cannot resolve a 20-year-old problem in just two and a half years.”

The minister underscored the government’s long-term vision of transforming Nigeria into a knowledge-based economy.

“We have a huge young population eager to learn. What we need to do is give them the best education to unleash their innate capability to help build, expand, and transform the economic base of our country,” he said.

He further highlighted investments in infrastructure, including modernisation of engineering, technology, and medical schools, as well as improvements to classrooms, workshops, and faculty facilities across the country.

“This government is very futuristic. We are not waiting for problems to happen,” Alausa said. “We are creating the environment for our lecturers and students to thrive, to conduct research, and to contribute meaningfully to national development.”