Historic deal reached, as ASUU, FG conclude 16-year renegotiation

The Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) have finalized a landmark agreement, bringing to a close a protracted 16-year cycle of strikes and disputes over the renegotiation of their 2009 agreement.

Following intensive negotiations, the deal was concluded on December 23, 2025, and is set to take effect from January 1, 2026, with a review scheduled after three years. This outcome follows a renegotiation process that began in 2017.

Key provisions of the new agreement include:

· A 40% salary increase for academic staff and enhanced pension benefits, including a provision for professors to retire at age 70 with a pension equivalent to their full annual salary.

· A revamped university funding model with dedicated allocations for research, libraries, laboratories, and staff development.

· The proposed establishment of a National Research Council to fund research with a minimum of 1% of Nigeria’s GDP.

· Stronger affirmation of university autonomy and academic freedom, including the requirement that key leadership positions like Deans and Provosts be elected and held exclusively by professors.

· A guarantee of non-victimization for union members involved in the struggle.

In a memo to members, ASUU President Chris Piwuna hailed the agreement as the result of “a long walk” and a payoff for the union’s perseverance.

He urged the government to implement the terms swiftly and to expedite negotiations with other university-based unions to ensure stability across the sector.

The resolution aims to address systemic issues, curb brain drain, and revitalize Nigeria’s university system, which comprises 310 federal, state, and private institutions.

This deal concludes a period defined by frequent industrial action. ASUU has long maintained that strikes were a necessary response to the government’s failure to honor past agreements, actions it says were in defense of public university standards.

However, these prolonged strikes have been deeply controversial, widely criticized for severely disrupting the academic progress of students, with many Nigerians viewing the union’s tactics as harmful and self-serving.

About The Author

Dele Fashomi

Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.

Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.

Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).

He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.

He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.

Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled:  Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.

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