The Nigerian government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) have officially signed a landmark renegotiated agreement in 2025, replacing the contentious 2009 FG-ASUU pact and marking an end to a protracted 16-17 year dispute over the service conditions of public tertiary school lecturers. The agreement, unveiled by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, and the Minister of State for Education, Suwaiba Sa’id Ahmad, on December 23, 2025, is set to take effect from January 1, 2026, with a circular issued by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) on December 30, 2025, ensuring its prompt implementation. This decisive step aims to restore stability, trust, and quality to Nigeria’s tertiary education system and put an end to incessant strikes that have plagued academic calendars for decades.

A central provision of the new agreement is a comprehensive review of academic staff remuneration. All academic staff will receive a 40 percent upward review of their emoluments. This increase is primarily reflected through the newly consolidated Academic Tools Allowance (CATA), which is peculiar to university academic staff. CATA is designed to cover essential professional expenses such as journal publications, conference participation, internet access, learned society memberships, and book allowances, thereby supporting effective teaching, research, and international academic engagement. The government stated that by consolidating these provisions, the agreement aims to directly boost research output and teaching quality, moving away from ad hoc or discretionary benefits.

Furthermore, the agreement introduces a dedicated Professorial Cadre Allowance, approved for the first time by the Federal Government. This allowance strictly applies to full-time Professors and Readers, recognising their expanded scholarly, administrative, and research responsibilities. Professors are now to receive N1.74 million (approximately N140,000 monthly) annually, while Readers will earn N840,000 (approximately N70,000 monthly) annually. This allowance is intended to support critical activities such as research coordination, academic documentation, correspondence, and administrative efficiency, allowing senior academics to focus more effectively on teaching, mentorship, innovation, and global knowledge production.

The agreement also restructures the nine categories of Earned Academic Allowances, making them clearly defined, transparently earned, and strictly tied to duties performed. These include enhanced provisions for postgraduate supervision, fieldwork, clinical duties, moderation, examination responsibilities, and leadership roles within the university system. This approach aims to promote productivity, accountability, and fairness by directly linking payments to measurable academic work.

From the government's perspective, this agreement represents a "decisive turning point" and a "death of incessant strikes." Minister Alausa lauded President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to quality education and uninterrupted academic calendars, stating that the President took personal ownership of resolving the long-standing disputes. The government views this as a pathway to resolving governance challenges and achieving sustained progress through dialogue, transparency, and fiscal realism.

However, despite the celebratory mood and the successful collective bargaining process, ASUU President, Professor Chris Piwuna, expressed cautious optimism, highlighting deep structural problems that remain unresolved. Piwuna recalled the prolonged negotiation process, which began in 2017 to review the 2009 agreement and revitalise Nigeria’s university system, noting that several committees (led by Wale Babalakin, Munzali Jibrin, and Nimi Briggs) failed to produce an agreement between 2017 and 2022. Progress was only achieved after the inauguration of the Yayale Ahmed-led renegotiation committee in October 2024, which concluded an agreement about 14 months later. Piwuna praised Ahmed's determined leadership during these talks.

Piwuna warned that persistent government interference in university governance continues to threaten university autonomy, academic standards, and research funding. He stated that while university autonomy is recognised in principle, its practical implementation remains weak, citing instances where federal and state authorities dissolve governing councils, interfere in vice-chancellor appointments, and skew processes for political interests. He also criticised the increasing use of acting vice-chancellors, which weakens institutional stability, and urged greater scrutiny of governing councils and pro-chancellors.

Regarding research, Piwuna lamented chronic underfunding, which has reduced Nigerian universities to "mere teaching institutions" disconnected from innovation. He welcomed the inclusion of research and development funding in the new agreement, particularly the provision for forwarding the National Research Council Bill to the National Assembly, proposing to dedicate at least one percent of GDP to research, innovation, and development. He urged accelerated hearing for this bill.

Other concerns raised by ASUU include financial accountability within universities, with allegations of mismanagement by some vice-chancellors and a growing "consultancy syndrome" used to "cleanse" funds. Piwuna also criticised the conversion of some federal colleges of education into universities without adequate structural reforms and the rapid promotion of chief lecturers to professors without due process, warning that this threatens academic standards.

Beyond the university system, the ASUU President painted a grim picture of Nigeria’s broader economic situation, attributing hardship to fuel price hikes, currency devaluation, and subsidy removal, which have significantly devalued the minimum wage. He pointed to insecurity, rising taxes, a collapsing health sector, and graduate unemployment as factors closing off education as a pathway out of poverty. Piwuna stressed that "the country must be rescued and rebuilt in the interest of the people."

While ASUU is optimistic about the agreement’s full implementation by the Federal Government, Piwuna expressed a "pessimistic side," given the history of government sincerity and past experiences. The union hopes it will not have to resort to strike action to enforce compliance, reiterating their accessibility and openness to dialogue. This agreement, despite its significant strides, underscores the ongoing challenges in Nigeria's higher education sector and the need for sustained commitment to reforms beyond just remuneration.