ASUU faults FG, states over unpaid salaries, 2025 agreement
By James Ogunnaike
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), has faulted the Federal and state governments over the continued non-payment of three-and-a-half months’ salaries withheld from university lecturers and the uneven implementation of the December 2025 agreement with the union.
ASUU President, Prof. Christopher Piwuna, disclosed this while speaking on Frontline, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu.
Pawn said the union had expected the agreement reached with the Federal Government in December 2025 to usher in greater stability in the university system, improve lecturers’ welfare and address longstanding challenges confronting public universities.
He, however, expressed disappointment that several provisions of the agreement had either not been implemented or were being implemented inconsistently by the Federal and state governments.
“It’s really painful to have a conversation on issues like this. Our expectation, when we signed an agreement in December 2025, was that we are going at this time to talk about the progress that we have made, the stability in the system and concern ourselves with issues that affect Nigerians,” he said.
The ASUU president said the agreement covered improved salaries, funding for public universities and research support, among other provisions, but maintained that implementation had fallen short of the union’s expectations.
Piwuna also raised concerns over the continued withholding of part of the salaries owed lecturers from the previous administration, saying three-and-a-half months out of the seven-and-a-half months withheld were still outstanding.
According to him, the Federal Government had paid four months of the withheld salaries, leaving a balance of three-and-a-half months.
He said the outstanding salaries remained a major source of concern for affected lecturers, adding that the union expected the government to resolve the matter.
Beyond the withheld salaries, Piwuna said some universities were still facing difficulties implementing the new salary structure, while lecturers in some institutions remained uncertain about the payment of their full entitlements.
“As we stand now, funding is not properly being done according to what was agreed to. Individual universities have to embark on strike before salaries are being paid. Some universities are cut off from the new salary structure,” he said.
The ASUU president said the implementation challenge was not restricted to the Federal Government, noting that state governments also had obligations towards universities under their control.
He said while some state governments had commenced implementation of the December agreement, others had yet to fully comply, resulting in disparities in the conditions of service across public universities.
Piwuna cited Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, as one of the governors who had commenced implementation of the agreement.
“Only Governor Alex Otti of the South-Eastern part has implemented it,” he said.
He urged other governments to fulfil their commitments, stressing that ASUU had continued to engage relevant government officials through meetings and correspondence rather than immediately resorting to industrial action.
“We have engaged them; the Minister of Education at federal level, we engaged Senator Larry Tejuosho, the chairman of the implementation committee monitoring the Federal Government agreement. We have reminded them to do the needful,” Piwuna said.
On funding for education, the ASUU president said inadequate financing remained one of the major challenges confronting Nigeria’s public university system, particularly in the areas of research, infrastructure and human capital development.
He called for sustained investment in education, arguing that adequate funding was essential if Nigerian universities were to produce research and innovation capable of competing in the global knowledge economy.
Piwuna said governments should work towards dedicating up to 26 per cent of their annual budgets to education, describing such spending as an investment in national development rather than an expenditure that should continually be reduced because of competing demands.
“Every government should at least aim to supply or to fund their budget or dedicate their budget up to 26 per cent to education, and Nigeria is not an exception,” he said.
He, however, disclosed that ASUU had compromised during negotiations with the Federal Government by agreeing to a 15 per cent education budget benchmark, while recognising the financial difficulties involved in achieving the higher target immediately.
“So while negotiating with the government, we told the government to reduce the budget to 15 per cent and they agreed. Although it may be difficult, it can be done incrementally,” he said.
Piwuna said the agreement reached in December 2025 contained specific provisions for funding public universities, improving lecturers’ salaries and establishing mechanisms to strengthen research.
“The agreement, when we signed it, had provision for funding for public universities. It had provisions for improved salary, and it had provision for research council, amongst others,” he said.
He stressed that stronger investment in research was necessary for Nigerian universities to contribute meaningfully to national development and generate knowledge capable of competing beyond the country.
According to him, underfunding the education sector has implications not only for universities but also for research, innovation, human-capital development and the wider economy.
“We all know the value of education and we expect our leaders to carry out policies and actions that will promote education,” he said.
Piwuna said ASUU remained committed to dialogue with the Federal and state governments but urged the authorities to address the outstanding issues surrounding lecturers’ salaries, the implementation of the December 2025 agreement and funding for public universities.
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