Hendrix Oliomogbe
Academic activities in public tertiary institutions in Nigeria may once again be disrupted following the refusal of government to implement the renegotiated 2009 Agreement, which was formally unveiled on January 14, 2026.
Speaking at a press briefing Thursday at the University of Benin (UNIBEN) secretariat of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the Benin Zonal coordinator of the union, Prof. Monday Igbafen said that the unveiling was supposed to mark what the lecturers believed would be the end of years of struggle to renegotiate the 2009 Agreement and secure lasting industrial harmony in the nation's public universities.
Prof. Igbafen recalled that at the historic moment, the government made a solemn promises of full and speedy implementation, adding that regrettably, the it has reneged on that promise.
He warned: "We warn that public universities face imminent paralysis if the government continues its old tactics of disrespecting collective bargaining and binding agreements. Our conclusion is clear: unless urgent action is taken, we are being pushed back to the trenches.
"We condemn the partial and non-implementation of the salary component of the 2025 FGN/ASUU Agreement.
"This is a recipe for industrial crisis in our universities.We berate the Edo, Ondo, and Delta State governments for failing to implement the Agreement five months after the Federal Government’s directive. We urge them to comply immediately or face industrial action on their campuses.We condemn the hijack and derailment of Nigeria’s research and development agenda by external agents and their local collaborators."
The Zonal coordinator listed the vexatious reasons for the grievances to include the Distorted Implementation of Allowances, accusing federal university administrators of selectively paying Consolidated Academic Tool Allowances (CATA), Earned Academic Allowances (EAA), and Professorial Allowances.
According to him the action, violated the Agreement, which clearly stated that all allowances must be mainstreamed into the Consolidated University Academic Staff Salary Scale as part of monthly salaries for professors.
He accused state governors, who serve as visitors to state universities of refusing to comply with the agreement, nearly five months after the federal government directed full implementation
Prof. Igbafen said: "This is hypocrisy, as their representatives actively participated in negotiating the Agreement.
He further accused the government of failing to inaugurate the Implementation Monitoring Committee (IMC), which was meant to shield the Agreement from bureaucratic sabotage.
"This vacuum has led to distortions, including in the proposed National Research Council. Worse still, the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, announced plans to establish a National Research and Innovation Development Fund without any consultation with ASUU.
"Even more insulting, the minister’s proposal mentions ₦500 billion while ignoring the Agreement’s provision for “at least 1% of GDP for research, innovation, and development."
He continued: "The government remains insensitive to outstanding issues: unpaid arrears of the 25–35% salary award, promotion arrears, unremitted third-party deductions, salary shortfalls from IPPIS errors, and the withheld three-and-a-half months’ salaries from the 2022 strike."
He deplored the minister’s abrupt reversal of the mother-tongue policy in early childhood education, noting that the policy undermines pedagogical evidence and national policy coherence.
Besides, Prof. Igbafen berated the government for irregular appointments, financial misappropriation, and disregard for due process by government-appointed vice chancellors; and attempt by the Niger State Government to forcefully grab land grabbing belonging to Bosso campus of the Federal University of Technology, Minna.
He also slammed the government for threatening to scrap some academic programmes; compulsory enrolment in the Nigeria Education Repository Databank without stakeholder engagement, among other contending issues.
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