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By Staff Reporter
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Nigerian government have reached an interim agreement on the long-stalled renegotiation of the 2009 ASUU–FG agreement, a development that could end more than a decade of protracted disputes between both parties, PREMIUM TIMES has learnt.
The original agreement, signed 16 years ago, has remained the central source of repeated industrial actions in Nigeria’s public universities. Although it was designed to be reviewed periodically, the renegotiation process has stalled for nearly a decade.
Agreement Signed, Implementation Date Set
A source within ASUU’s National Executive Council (NEC) disclosed on Wednesday that both parties have signed the agreement, with implementation scheduled to commence in January.
Neither ASUU nor the federal government has made an official announcement. Efforts to reach the spokesperson of the Ministry of Education, Folasade Boriowo, were unsuccessful, as calls and messages to her line went unanswered.
Similarly, ASUU President Professor Christopher Piwuna did not respond to text messages or phone calls as of the time of filing this report.
Key Highlights of the Agreement
According to sources familiar with the negotiations, the agreement includes several major concessions:
- 40 per cent salary increase for university academics
- Establishment of a National Research Council (NRC) with statutory funding of at least one per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
- Professors to earn a pension equivalent to their annual salary upon retirement at age 70
- Enhanced university autonomy and academic freedom
- Increased funding for universities, including allocations for:
- Research
- Libraries
- Laboratories
- Equipment
- Staff development
The agreement also addresses conditions of service for academics and broader funding challenges within the university system.
A Long Road to Consensus
The breakthrough follows the work of the sixth renegotiation committee, inaugurated in October, which completed the harmonisation of outstanding issues. The committee, formally known as the Federal Government Tertiary Institutions Expanded Negotiation Committee, was chaired by Yayale Ahmed, Pro-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria.
Its inauguration came shortly after ASUU embarked on a two-week warning strike, protesting the government’s failure to sign or implement earlier drafts of the agreement.
ASUU has repeatedly accused the government of constituting renegotiation committees without following through on their recommendations.
Previous Failed Efforts
Before the current committee, Mr Ahmed also chaired a renegotiation panel inaugurated in October 2024, which submitted a draft agreement in February.
In August, the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, inaugurated another committee led by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Abel Enitan, to review that draft.
Earlier efforts include:
- A 2022 committee led by the late Professor Nimi Briggs, whose draft was never signed
- A 2021 committee chaired by Munzali Jibrin, which also failed to produce an implemented agreement
- A committee led by Wale Babalakin between 2017 and 2020, which ended after his resignation
Background
The 2009 agreement outlines conditions of service for academics, funding obligations of the federal government, and institutional autonomy for public universities. Its repeated non-implementation has been a major trigger for ASUU strikes over the years.
If fully implemented as scheduled, the new agreement could mark a turning point in government–university relations and bring much-needed stability to Nigeria’s public university system.
