The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has concluded its nationwide protests and is now set to hold congresses across campuses to determine its next line of action, even as the Federal Government meets today to deliberate on the renegotiated 2009 FGN-ASUU agreement.
The government meeting, expected to involve the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa; Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammadu Maigari Dingyadi; and officials of the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, will attempt to reconcile the 2009 agreement with subsequent recommendations, including the Nimi Briggs report, and produce a legally binding framework for phased implementation.
While President Bola Tinubu’s administration released N50 billion earlier this year to clear earned academic allowances, ASUU insists that deeper issues such as salary structure, university funding, autonomy, and review of governing laws remain unresolved.
ASUU president, Prof. Chris Piwuna, told journalists on Wednesday that the union was not invited to today’s meeting but would soon decide its stance.
“Our members are tired of words and no action. The protests are over, and we will now return to our branches to deliberate on the next line of action. Whatever our members decide, we will implement,” he said.
The union has long lamented stagnant salaries, with professors earning between N500,000 and N633,000 monthly, while graduate assistants take home as little as N125,000. Comparisons with counterparts in Kenya and Zimbabwe highlight Nigeria’s lagging academic remuneration, fueling brain drain and low morale in the system.
A former Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, decried the conditions, noting that many lecturers sleep in their offices due to poor pay. “The morale is low, and lecturers are leaving. The quality of teaching is falling,” he warned.
Similarly, Secretary of the Committee of Vice Chancellors, Prof. Andrew Haruna, faulted successive governments for neglecting the education sector. “Professors are globally mobile. If they are undervalued here, they will go elsewhere,” he said.
ASUU had earlier rejected the government’s proposal of loan-style support funds in place of direct cash entitlements. The union insists that without tangible commitments, another round of industrial action could be imminent.
Today’s meeting will test the government’s resolve to end years of deadlock, as the academic community watches for concrete steps beyond promises.