FG, ASUU Unveil Renegotiated Agreement to Boost University Sector

The Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) have unveiled a renegotiated agreement aimed at resolving long-standing disputes in Nigeria’s tertiary education sector.
Speaking at the unveiling of the agreement in Abuja on Wednesday, Education Minister Dr. Tunji Alausa described the pact as a renewed trust, restored confidence, and a decisive turning point in the history of Nigeria’s tertiary education system.
Alausa credited President Bola Tinubu for personally driving the process, saying, “For the first time in the history of our country, a sitting President took full ownership of this long-standing challenge confronting our tertiary education system and accorded it the leadership attention it truly deserved.”
He explained that decades of unresolved remuneration issues and welfare gaps had led to recurring industrial actions, disrupting academic calendars and threatening students’ futures. The current administration, he said, chose dialogue over discord, reform over delay, and resolution over rhetoric.
The 2025 agreement follows a renegotiation process that began in 2017 to review the 2009 Federal Government–ASUU pact, which was due for revision in 2012. Previous committees under past administrations, chaired by Wale Babalakin, Munzali Jibrin, and Nimi Briggs, failed to produce a final agreement.
The federal government and ASUU hailed the agreement as a landmark achievement expected to ensure uninterrupted academic calendars, improved welfare for lecturers, and a stronger tertiary education system in Nigeria.