The Bola Tinubu-led administration has agreed to a 40 percent pay rise for lecturers following the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
ASUU said the agreement was reached on December 23, 2025, bringing to an end an eight-year renegotiation process that began in 2017.
The talks followed the failure to review the original 2009 FGN–ASUU agreement in 2012, which has made the union initiate so many industrial strikes in the past.
In a circular dated December 24, 2025, ASUU said the agreement is aimed at revitalising Nigeria’s university system.
ASUU said the agreement addresses long-standing challenges including poor funding, erosion of university autonomy and brain drain.
The union said the deal covers conditions of service, funding, university autonomy, academic freedom and systemic reforms.
Under the conditions of service, ASUU said academic staff salaries will be reviewed upward by 40 percent.
The agreement also reaffirms existing pension provisions, granting professors a pension equivalent to their annual salary upon retirement at the age of 70, subject to defined service requirements.
On funding, ASUU said the agreement introduces a new budgeting template tailored to the peculiar needs of universities.
The template allocates specific percentages to libraries, research, equipment, staff development and laboratories.
ASUU said a major feature of the agreement is the proposal to establish a national research council and it will be funded with not less than one percent of Nigeria’s gross domestic product.
ASUU said the council is expected to strengthen innovation, fund research and support research universities and centres of excellence.
The agreement also reinforces university autonomy and academic freedom and provides for merit-based governance and the election of academic leaders.
ASUU said the agreement will take effect from January 1, 2026, adding that the agreement will be reviewed after three years.
The union said the deal guarantees that no individual will be victimised for participating in the renegotiation process.
ASUU expressed optimism that the federal government will commence implementation without delay.
