By Mahdi Waziri Isa
Nigerian university lecturers are on the verge of a landmark 40% salary rise, the most significant pay adjustment in more than a decade, following a breakthrough in long-running negotiations with the federal government.
The agreement, reached after intense talks to avert a threatened strike, marks a critical victory for the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), which has long protested eroding wages. According to an internal union document, ASUU is set to accept the offer “barring any last-minute change.”
The deal concludes a period of high tension, with the union’s one-month ultimatum expiring over the weekend. In deciding to accept, ASUU’s leadership noted that continued rejection of the government’s final offer would lead to “stagnation of our earnings over a protracted period.”
The increase will substantially boost monthly earnings across all academic ranks, with the salary for a Professor rising to a new range of N1.19 million to N1.33 million, up from the previous N850,000 to N950,000.
Beyond base pay, the agreement includes key resolutions on sustainable funding and regular reviews. Both parties agreed to jointly sponsor legislation for “new and innovative forms of taxes to guarantee sustainable funding of education.” Furthermore, the pact mandates a comprehensive review every three years and ensures lecturers’ pay will be adjusted correspondingly with any future nationwide salary increases.
This settlement aims to halt the cycle of industrial disputes that have repeatedly disrupted Nigeria’s public university system and offers a measure of financial relief to the nation’s academic staff.