ASUU decries FG's failure to implement 2025 university deal
Three months after the landmark ASUU-FG 2025 agreement took effect in January, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) says the Nigerian government has failed to implement several key components. ASUU President Christopher Piwuna told PREMIUM TIMES that earned academic allowances, meant to be mainstreamed into salaries, haven't been paid. Some universities also fail to pay full salaries to sabbatical staff, and professorial allowances for academics at the doctoral cadre level remain unpaid, despite these being captured in the deal signed in December after renegotiating the 2009 agreement.
Education Minister Tunji Alausa had declared in January that the agreement, which includes a 40% salary increase, the establishment of a National Research Council with statutory funding of at least 1% of GDP, and pension equivalent to annual salary at retirement, would end industrial actions. He said financial implications are in the N3.52 trillion education budget for 2026, but the appropriation bill hasn't been passed into law due to lawmakers' focus on party primaries and 2027 elections. Piwuna noted that this delay is stretching academics' patience, though the union hasn't issued a strike threat yet.
The agreement also covers more substantial university autonomy, academic freedom, and better funding for research, libraries, laboratories, and staff development. Annual professorial cadre allowances are set at N1.7 million for full professors and N840,000 for Readers.
With the budget stuck and implementation lagging, how should university staff, students, and parents navigate this uncertainty? Should you advocate for urgent budget passage or explore contingency plans for education continuity?