The Federal Government has commenced the implementation of key aspects of its agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities ahead of the formal signing ceremony scheduled for Wednesday, January 14.
The agreement, reached on December 23, 2025, effectively resolved a 16-year stalemate between the government and the university lecturers’ union.
According to official correspondence from the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission, relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies have been directed to begin implementing the components relating to academic allowances.
In a letter signed by the commission’s chairperson, Ekpo Nta, and addressed to bodies including the Office of the Head of Civil Service, the Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the government confirmed approval of revised remuneration for academics, with effect from January 1.
Under the directive, university lecturers are now entitled to increased Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance, secretarial allowance for professors and readers, as well as Earned Academic Allowances.
Although these allowances have existed since 2009, ASUU has repeatedly accused successive governments of failing to release the funds.
The union also insisted that the allowances should have been reviewed upward from 2012 in line with the 2009 agreement.
The revised structure places the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance at N952,412 annually for Graduate Assistants, rising to N3,790,676 for professors.
Professors are also entitled to N1.74 million annually as secretarial allowance, while readers will receive N840,000 per year.
Under the Earned Academic Allowances framework, lecturers are eligible for payments covering postgraduate supervision, industrial training and teaching practice supervision, oral examination honoraria, study grants, responsibility allowances and compensation for excess workload.
Beyond allowances, the agreement provides for a 40 per cent salary increase for academics and the establishment of a National Research Council with statutory funding pegged at a minimum of one per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product.
The agreement further stipulates that professors will earn a pension equivalent to their final annual salary upon retirement at the age of 70.
Reacting to the development, ASUU President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, expressed cautious optimism that the current administration would honour the agreement.
Piwuna, a consultant psychiatrist at the University of Jos Teaching Hospital, said the union expects a clear departure from the pattern of non-implementation that characterised previous governments.
“We have reached an agreement, and we expect this government to demonstrate fidelity to its commitments, unlike past administrations,” he said.
The formal signing of the agreement is expected to take place on Wednesday, January 14.
