By John Umeh
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) says it will consult its members in various branches to determine its next steps following Tuesday’s nationwide demonstrations over unmet demands.
While the protests have ended, ASUU insists that it will not make any fresh decisions until its members deliberate at congresses. The union’s latest move coincides with a high-level meeting scheduled for today by the Federal Government, which is expected to deliberate on the renegotiated 2009 FGN-ASUU agreement.
Earlier in the year, the Tinubu administration released ₦50 billion to offset outstanding earned academic allowances for lecturers and other university staff. But ASUU argues that the issues go deeper than allowances, pointing to poor salaries, inadequate university funding, lack of autonomy, and outdated regulatory laws.
Today’s meeting, which sources say will involve the Ministers of Education and Labour, along with officials from the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, is expected to harmonize the 2009 agreement with subsequent recommendations — including the Yayale Ahmed and Nimi Briggs reports. Part of the discussion will reportedly focus on phasing financial commitments into the national budget and producing a binding document for implementation.
ASUU president, Prof. Chris Piwuna, however, disclosed that the union was not invited.
“We don’t have any meeting with the Federal Government tomorrow (today). It’s their meeting, not ours. After the protests, we will return to our members to decide the way forward. Whatever our members want, that is exactly what we will do,” he said.
Union leaders have repeatedly cautioned that the government’s delay could trigger another crisis in public universities. ASUU’s Abuja zonal coordinator, Prof. Al-Amin Abdullahi, noted that the union had already concluded its part of the renegotiation process in December 2024, stressing that government adoption of the report was overdue.
A major flashpoint remains the pay structure of Nigerian academics. Official documents show that Graduate Assistants earn between ₦125,000 and ₦138,000 monthly, while professors take home between ₦525,000 and ₦633,000 before deductions. Many professors end up with less than ₦500,000 monthly after tax and pension cuts.
For many lecturers, the situation has become unbearable. Former University of Lagos Vice Chancellor, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, described the morale of academics as “severely broken.” He revealed that as a sitting vice chancellor, his salary was ₦900,000, but as a professor today, he earns ₦700,000. “Some lecturers even sleep in their offices because they cannot afford rent. The situation is depressing,” he said.
Adding his voice, Prof. Tunde Adeoye of UNILAG’s Economics Department urged the government to urgently revise salaries in line with economic realities, warning that Nigeria’s universities are fast losing talent to other countries. He noted that academics in nations like Kenya and Zimbabwe earn better wages than their Nigerian counterparts.
ASUU leaders have repeatedly accused the political class of prioritizing their own welfare over that of academics. Prof. Piwuna said the union was not surprised that the government was planning pay rises for public office holders while university lecturers continued to earn meagre wages.
Unless the government takes concrete action on salaries, funding, and working conditions, ASUU has warned that the fragile peace in universities may not last, raising fears of yet another round of industrial action.
