The Federal Government will on January 14 formalise a new agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), following weeks of negotiations aimed at resolving long-standing tensions in Nigeria’s university system.
The signing ceremony is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. at the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) Conference Hall in Abuja and is widely seen as a follow-up to the Federal Government’s proposed 40 per cent pay rise for academic staff, which ASUU accepted late last year.
A directive from the Federal Ministry of Education has invited Vice-Chancellors and Registrars of federal universities to attend the event. The circular, dated January 5, 2026, was signed by the Director of University Education, Rakiya Ilyasu, on behalf of the Minister of Education, describing the agreement as a critical step toward stabilising industrial relations in the tertiary education sector.
Ministry officials confirmed the authenticity of the circular, noting that the agreement aligns with the Federal Government’s education reform agenda under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope programme. Attendance by invited university administrators was described as mandatory, underscoring the importance attached to the pact and its implementation.
The agreement builds on recent breakthroughs in negotiations over unresolved issues from the 2009 Federal Government–ASUU agreement, which had triggered repeated industrial disputes for more than a decade.
Under the new arrangement, a revised salary structure will take effect from January 1, 2026, and will be subject to review after three years. Professors are also expected to retire at the age of 70, with pensions equivalent to their final annual salaries.
The deal further provides for the establishment of a National Research Council, to be funded with at least one per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product to support research and innovation. Other provisions include increased funding for university libraries, laboratories and equipment, expanded staff development programmes, enhanced institutional autonomy, and reforms in academic leadership selection.
Only professors will be eligible to serve as deans and provosts, while participants in previous strike actions are guaranteed protection from victimization.
