The Federal Government has announced that it will finally sign and implement the long-standing 2009 agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on January 14, 2026, a move it says will permanently address industrial disputes that have crippled Nigeria’s public universities for years.
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Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, disclosed this while speaking on ChannelsTelevision’s 2025 in Retrospect on Wednesday, where he said the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration was determined to put an end to recurrent university strikes and restore stability to the academic calendar.
“By January 2026, the 2009 agreement will be signed and fully implemented. This administration does not make empty promises. When commitments are made, they are fulfilled, adding that the government had already taken concrete steps to address key demands of the union.
He said the decision was part of broader efforts to ensure that students are no longer forced to spend six years on programmes designed to last four years due to frequent shutdowns of public universities.
“If you add up the days and months lost to strikes over the years, some students have lost almost four academic years. That is unacceptable. A four-year course must remain four years. We will not accommodate disruptions that keep our children out of school,” the minister stated.
Alausa noted that the relative industrial peace currently being enjoyed in public universities was not accidental, but the result of sustained engagement with ASUU and improved funding for the sector.
“This is not coincidence. It is the outcome of deliberate actions by this President. Today, ASUU members are in classrooms, and students are learning. That did not happen by chance,” he said.
On lecturers’ welfare, the minister revealed that academic staff have already benefited from significant salary adjustments, which he described as a major confidence-building measure.
“Members of ASUU have received about a 40 per cent increase in their salaries compared to what they earned previously. This government understands that you cannot get quality education if you do not take care of the people delivering it,” Alausa said.
He explained that education has received unprecedented budgetary attention under the current administration, noting that the sector recorded its highest allocations in the last two years.
“In the past two years, we have had the highest budget for education in the history of this country. The platform is there, and the funds are being used directly for interventions that matter,” he said.
According to him, resources are being channelled into classrooms, laboratories, engineering workshops, lecture theatres and faculty offices across federal universities, rather than administrative structures.
“We are not building new offices. We are building learning spaces. If you go to our universities today, you will see massive upgrades going on,” the minister added.
Alausa also linked the resolution of ASUU issues to wider reforms across the education sector, including massive investments in basic education, teacher training and digital learning.
“We are building new classrooms and new schools across 18 states. We are upgrading laboratories in thousands of schools, and we are retaining and retraining our teachers through digital platforms,” he said.
The minister disclosed that the government was piloting zero-data education platforms in several states to address challenges of internet access and electricity, allowing teachers and students to access learning materials free of charge.
“Teachers can log in, access digital content and even deliver online classes without paying for data. This is happening now, not in the future,” he said.
He said smart boards were also being deployed in primary, junior and senior secondary schools, alongside the use of technology and artificial intelligence to improve learning outcomes.
Looking ahead, Alausa said the signing of the 2009 agreement would provide a sustainable framework for labour relations in the university system, ensuring that future disputes are resolved without shutting down campuses.
“With the signing of this agreement and the reforms we have put in place, ASUU strikes should become a thing of the past. Our students deserve uninterrupted education, and that is what we are committed to delivering,” he said.
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