The Federal Government will on Wednesday, January 14, 2026, formally sign an agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), marking the culmination of weeks of negotiations between both sides.
The planned signing is connected to the Federal Government’s proposal of a 40 per cent salary increase for academic staff, which the union accepted last month.
A circular from the Ministry of Education invited Vice-Chancellors and Registrars of federal universities to attend the signing ceremony slated for 11:00 a.m. at the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) Conference Hall in Abuja.
Dated January 5, 2026, the circular, with reference number FME/IS/UNI/ASUU/C.11/Vol.V/82, was signed by the Director of University Education, Rakiya Ilyasu, on behalf of the Minister of Education. It bore the title “Invitation to the Ceremony for the Signing of Agreement Between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities.”
The document was sighted on Saturday and subsequently confirmed by the Ministry’s Director of Press and Public Relations, Boriowo Folasade.
The circular described the agreement as a major step towards restoring industrial harmony and strengthening teaching and learning across Nigerian universities. It also reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to sustainable educational development in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Attendance at the ceremony was declared mandatory for all invited university administrators, underlining the importance attached to the agreement and its effective implementation.
Last month, the long-running industrial dispute that has plagued Nigeria’s university system for 16 years since the 2009 Federal Government–ASUU Agreement recorded a breakthrough, with ASUU accepting the Federal Government’s proposed salary adjustment.
The agreement, which takes effect from January 1, 2026, is expected to be reviewed after three years.
Under the terms of the pact, professors are to earn a pension equivalent to their final annual salary upon retirement at the age of 70. It also provides for the establishment of a National Research Council to fund research with at least one per cent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product.
Additional provisions include enhanced funding for libraries, laboratories, equipment and staff development, increased university autonomy, and the election of academic leaders, restricting the positions of deans and provosts to professors. The agreement further guarantees that no staff member involved in previous industrial actions will face victimisation.
Leave a Reply