After wrapping up its nationwide protests on Tuesday, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is preparing to hold congresses to determine its next steps.
This development comes ahead of a Federal Government meeting scheduled for today to address long-standing grievances tied to the renegotiated 2009 FGN-ASUU agreement, which fueled Tuesday’s protests across universities.
Earlier in the year, the Tinubu administration released ₦50 billion to clear earned academic allowances owed to lecturers and university staff.
However, ASUU has continued to press for firmer commitments on improved salaries, better working conditions, enhanced funding and autonomy for universities, as well as a review of laws regulating the National Universities Commission and the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board.
Today’s meeting is expected to include the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa; the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammadu Maigari Dingyadi; and officials from the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission. The session aims to produce a timetable for signing and gradually implementing the renegotiated agreement alongside related reports.
According to government insiders in the Education and Labour ministries, discussions will center on harmonizing the Yayale Ahmed committee draft completed in December 2024 with the original 2009 agreement and subsequent recommendations, such as the Nimi Briggs report. Another key focus will be determining how to spread the financial obligations across the national budget while creating a legally binding framework.
Speaking on Wednesday, ASUU president, Prof. Chris Piwuna, stressed that the union expects genuine commitment from the government.
He said …
“I truly hope they will come up with something tangible. Our members are tired of words and no action.”
Piwuna, however, made it clear that ASUU was not invited to participate in today’s meeting.
He emphasized that the union had concluded its nationwide protests and was now set to convene congresses to determine its next course of action.
“We don’t have any meeting with the Federal Government tomorrow (today). It’s their meeting, we’re not involved. We have not received any invitation yet for a meeting with the Federal Government.
“However, we’ll let Nigerians know our next line of action after the protests. We operate from the bottom up. The protests are over, so we’ll go back to our members and ask them what is next, and we’ll do exactly what they want us to do as elected representatives,” he added.
Today’s meeting is taking place against the backdrop of persistent complaints by ASUU members over poor remuneration and the declining state of academia. Reports indicate that professors, who earn around ₦500,000 monthly, are forced to reside in officers’ quarters and sometimes struggle to board buses meant for students.
According to documents obtained by The PUNCH, the Consolidated University Academic Salary Structure shows that Graduate Assistants receive between ₦125,000 and ₦138,020 monthly, while professors earn between ₦525,010 and ₦633,333.
Assistant Lecturers earn between ₦150,000 and ₦171,487; Lecturer II between ₦186,543 and ₦209,693; Lecturer I between ₦239,292 and ₦281,956; Senior Lecturers between ₦386,101 and ₦480,780; and Readers between ₦436,392 and ₦522,212.
