Federal government and the main university lecturers’ union unveiled a renegotiated agreement on Wednesday aimed at resolving long-standing disputes over pay and conditions that have repeatedly disrupted academic calendars.
The deal, effective from January 1, 2026, includes a 40-percent hike in remuneration for academic staff at federal institutions, alongside restructured allowances and a new professorial cadre payment, according to Education Minister Tunji Alausa.
Alausa described the accord as a “decisive turning point” in the country’s tertiary education system, crediting President Bola Tinubu for taking “full ownership” of the issue for the first time in Nigeria’s history.
“Decades of unresolved remuneration issues and welfare gaps had led to recurring industrial actions that disrupted academic calendars and threatened students’ futures,” Alausa said at the unveiling in Abuja.
He added that the administration had chosen “dialogue over discord, reform over delay, and resolution over rhetoric” to address the challenges.
The agreement restructures salaries to include a consolidated academic staff salary and tools allowance covering journal publications, conferences, internet access, learned society memberships and books.
Nine earned allowances are now linked to specific duties such as postgraduate supervision, fieldwork, clinical work, examinations and leadership roles.
A new professorial cadre allowance applies only to full-time professors and readers, providing professors with 1.74 million naira ($1,050) annually, or 140,000 naira monthly, and readers with 840,000 naira yearly, or 70,000 naira monthly.
Alausa called this intervention “not cosmetic” but “structural, practical, and transformative,” ushering in “a new era of stability, dignity, and excellence” for Nigerian universities.
The pact stems from a renegotiation process launched in 2017 to update a 2009 agreement due for review in 2012, but previous committees failed to reach a final deal.
A new committee led by Yayale Ahmed was formed in October 2024, culminating in the agreement after about 14 months.
Alausa said the deal aligns with Tinubu’s “Renewed Hope Agenda” and focuses on improved service conditions, funding, university autonomy, academic freedom and broader reforms to reverse decay in the sector.
He thanked negotiation teams from both sides for resolving what many described as a “two-decade-old quagmire,” pledging faithful implementation to ensure uninterrupted academics and curb brain drain.
“History will remember today not merely as an unveiling ceremony, but as the day Nigeria chose dialogue, transparency, fiscal realism, and strong Presidential commitment as the pathway to resolving long-standing governance challenges,” Alausa said.
