FG Offers Lecturers 40% Pay Rise to Halt ASUU Strike

Nigeria’s Federal Government has opened a fresh round of peace moves aimed at averting another shutdown of public universities, presenting lecturers under the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) with a new offer of a 40 per cent salary increase.

Senior officials familiar with the talks in Abuja disclosed the development, which emerged shortly after ASUU’s one-month ultimatum to the government elapsed. 

The atmosphere on campuses has been tense, with students and administrators bracing for possible disruptions.

Government negotiators, led by former Head of Service Yayale Ahmed, are expected to meet ASUU leaders again in the coming days, where the proposed increment will be the main issue on the table.

ASUU’s National Executive Council met in Abuja on Sunday to analyse the government’s proposal. 

Branch chairpersons were directed to return to their respective campuses to brief members ahead of next week’s deliberations.

A union representative who attended the closed-door meeting described the discussion as “a delicate stage that requires careful consultation”.

“We received an offer of a 40 per cent salary adjustment, and branch leaders will now brief their members. Nothing is final yet, but negotiations will continue next week,” the participant said.

Tensions between the union and the government have simmered for months. 

ASUU maintains that its long-standing demands, including full implementation of the 2009 agreement, payment of earned academic allowances, revitalisation funding, and settlement of withheld salaries, have been met with what it calls the government’s “unserious commitment”.

Last week’s standoff prompted an emergency meeting between the Federal Government and ASUU in Abuja. 

The engagement stretched into Tuesday, but neither side addressed journalists, citing strict rules guiding the negotiation process.

Earlier, the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, insisted the administration had made significant progress in meeting ASUU’s core demands. 

He also restated President Bola Tinubu’s directive that public universities must not drift into another closure.

According to Alausa, the recent brief strike by ASUU “should never have occurred”, as the government remains committed to stabilising the academic calendar.

Labour groups are now stepping into the fray. The Nigeria Labour Congress declared support for ASUU, warning that the Federal Government must avoid “any repeat of past mistakes” by honouring its commitments.

An NLC official told reporters that the Congress “will not hesitate to intervene more forcefully if the government fails to act swiftly”, stressing that the well-being of university workers is tied to national development.

The new offer is viewed as one of the boldest steps yet to ease the growing discord and prevent students from being forced out of classrooms again.

The renewed talks follow weeks of heightened anxiety after ASUU issued a one-month ultimatum, cautioning that unresolved grievances could plunge the university system into yet another protracted shutdown, a scenario stakeholders across the country are desperate to avoid.

Further developments in the negotiation are expected to shape whether the current academic cycle holds steady or faces fresh turbulence.