The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has rejected the Federal Government’s proposed 35% salary increase for lecturers, raising fears that ongoing negotiations may once again hit a dead end.
According to reports, all 89 ASUU branches across public universities voted against the offer during the union’s recent National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja.
ASUU President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, confirmed the development, saying the union remains firm on the salary structure recommended by the former government renegotiation committee led by Prof. Nimi Briggs.
“The recent offer by the Federal Government to us was a 35 per cent increase. When we had our meeting to suspend the warning strike, none of the 89 branches accepted the 35 per cent increase,” Piwuna told Daily Sun.
“All the 89 branches of ASUU in Nigeria rejected the 35 per cent increase. So, it’s a non-starter for us. We have Prof. Nimi Briggs’ benchmark, which we are discussing with them in the team, and we believe that’s what they should use.”
The Nimi Briggs committee, which concluded its work in 2022, recommended a new salary scale for university lecturers, including a monthly pay of ₦1.2 million for professors in public universities. However, the report was shelved by the government. Currently, professors earn less than ₦500,000 monthly — less than half of the proposed amount.
ASUU insists that implementing the Briggs report is crucial to restoring dignity to the teaching profession and curbing the mass migration of academic talent abroad.
In 2022, the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (CVCNU) had suggested a compromise salary of ₦800,000 for professors — a 50% increase — but the Federal Government also failed to implement it.
With ASUU holding firmly to the Nimi Briggs template and rejecting the latest 35% offer, analysts fear the talks could collapse, possibly setting the stage for another round of industrial unrest in Nigeria’s university system.
Union leaders have repeatedly warned that without fair pay and improved working conditions, universities will continue to lose qualified lecturers to better-paying institutions overseas.
For now, the next move lies with the Federal Government as ASUU maintains its stance on what it considers a fair and realistic deal.
