JUST IN: ASUU Orders Resumption Of Academic Activities After Agreement With FG
President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof. Chris Piwuna, has urged lecturers across Nigeria to resume academic activities following the signing of a new agreement with the Federal Government.
Speaking in an interview with ARISE News on Wednesday, Piwuna described the development as a historic moment for the nation’s university system.
He said the 2026 agreement replaces the long-standing 2009 pact and marks a significant breakthrough after 16 years of negotiations.
“We have arrived at this point. We’ve signed an agreement, the government has agreed to it, and it is a great achievement for both sides, for the government, our union, and everyone who contributed to getting us here,” he said.
Newsmen reports that the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities on Wednesday, unveiled a renegotiated 2025 agreement aimed at resolving long-standing disputes that triggered frequent strikes and disrupted academic calendars.
The agreement concludes a renegotiation process that began in 2017 to review the 2009 FG–ASUU pact, after several failed attempts under previous administrations, with a breakthrough achieved by the Yayale Ahmed-led committee inaugurated in October 2024.
The agreement focuses on improved conditions of service, funding, university autonomy and academic freedom, with a key provision being a 40 per cent salary increase for academic staff in federal universities effective January 1, 2026.
It also introduces a new academic tools allowance, restructures earned academic allowances, and establishes a Professorial Cadre Allowance, moves the government says will curb brain drain, boost productivity and usher in stability in Nigeria’s university system.
However, Piwuna stressed that the success of the agreement would depend largely on the commitment of lecturers to fully return to their duties.
“To correct whatever has happened, the situation of students, Nigerians, and our reputation, the only way is for us to be sincere with this agreement.
“Our responsibility now that we have signed is to return to work. We are supposed to conduct research, teach, and carry out community service.
“Lecturers must take research very seriously as long as funds are available. Let us commit to making this country great again through our research output,” he said.
He also noted that while the agreement covers ASUU members, challenges remain with other academic unions.
“Congress of Nigerian University Academics (CONUA) and National Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA) are our members as far as we are concerned. Some of them are still paying dues to ASUU. Our first appeal to them is to return to the fold.
“We are willing to accept them so we can work together. But if they choose not to return, this agreement is not for them,” he said.
Additionally, Piwuna warned against government interference in university affairs, stressing the need to protect institutional autonomy. He urged them to stop, saying the current Ministry of Education keeps interfering through the Universities governing councils, thereby undermining university independence.
He also highlighted unresolved issues, including the dismissal of staff at Lagos State University, Kogi State University, and the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), which he said the government has promised to address.
“At Lagos State University, about five of our members are still dismissed, and we have included this in our demands to ensure it is resolved.
“We have about 108 members dismissed from Kogi State University by the previous administration.
“We also still have members being victimised at FUTO. These are issues that Alhaji Ahmed has agreed to take up and follow through,” Piwuna said.
