FG–ASUU Agreement: Professors to get ₦140k monthly allowance -  Education Minister

• As NASU, SSANU urge FG to fast-track renegotiation

The Federal Government has announced that professors in Nigerian universities will receive an additional ₦140,000 monthly allowance following a landmark agreement signed with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Wednesday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme.

According to the minister, the allowance targets academics in the professorial cadre.

“This allowance is for professors. As long as you’re a full-time professor or you’re a reader, you’ll get that additional top-up,” Alausa explained.

He further broke down the payment structure, stating that while professors will receive approximately ₦140,000 monthly, readers will get about ₦70,000 as additional allowance each month.

The agreement, unveiled on Wednesday in Abuja, replaces the 2009 FG-ASUU agreement and includes a 40 per cent salary review for university teaching staff alongside the introduction of the professorial cadre allowance.

Alausa emphasized that the benefit applies exclusively to full-time academics.

“Let me emphasize clearly that these allowances apply strictly to full time and not part time professors and readers,” he stated during the signing ceremony.

The minister described the approval as recognition of the workload carried by senior academics.

“This approval recognises the significant workload, administrative, scholarly and research responsibilities borne by academics at this level by the virtue of their profession and positions as professors or readers in our universities,” he said.

Addressing concerns about sustainability, Alausa assured that the government has secured funding for the initiative.

“When the president was convinced that he had the funding, he signed off. Today we have the funding to support the 40% salary increase that we’ve given our lecturers in all our tertiary institutions,” he noted.

The agreement also covers enhanced academic allowances, nine in total, with clear delineation of payment responsibilities between universities and the federal government.

Meanwhile, the Joint Action Committee of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational  and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, (SSANU) have called on the Federal Government to expedite action on the ongoing renegotiation of conditions of service with both unions.

In a statement on Wednesday, the JAC congratulated the Academic Staff Union of Universities on the signing of a new agreement with the FG, describing it as a long-awaited breakthrough in improving the working conditions of ASUU members.

The statement was jointly signed by the General Secretary of NASU, Prince Peters Adeyemi, and the President of SSANU and Chairman of JAC, Mohammed Ibrahim.

Recall, ASUU, both unions have been engaged in protracted negotiations with the Federal Government over issues ranging from salary structures and earned allowances to welfare, workplace safety, and funding for university infrastructure

While welcoming the development, the non-academic unions warned that any further delay in concluding their own renegotiation with the government could threaten industrial harmony in Nigeria’s university system.

The JAC stated that it had consistently demonstrated restraint and commitment to peace despite what it described as the government’s “continued insensitivity” to the plight of non-academic staff and the harsh conditions under which its members work across public universities.

According to the statement, failure to act swiftly after the ASUU agreement would amount to an “invitation to chaos” and could disrupt the fragile industrial peace currently being maintained within the university system.

“The timely conclusion of the ongoing renegotiation with NASU and SSANU would avert a breakdown of industrial peace and harmony in the system,” the unions said, cautioning the Federal Government against employing delay tactics that could “stir the hornet’s nest.”

The unions emphasised that sustained industrial harmony was critical to the stability of universities and the broader goal of building sustainable academic communities.