The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has expressed concern that a new statewide strike may soon be inevitable due to what it claims is the 15-year stagnation of Nigerian university professors on the same salary structure.
Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, November 18, in Benin City, Edo State, the union’s Benin Zone said that the Federal Government had not taken advantage of the one-month window allotted to it in order to finalize the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement revision.
Prof. Monday Igbafen, the zonal coordinator, told the media that the government’s handling of the situation has demonstrated a “blatant unwillingness” to confront the problem endangering the public university system. Igbafen spoke alongside officials from the zone’s universities.
Igbafen bemoaned the dire situation of academic compensation, saying, “It is not only regrettable but sad to inform you that the Federal Government has again demonstrated a blatant unwillingness to quickly and holistically resolve all the outstanding issues to restore the desired industrial harmony in our public universities.”
The salary and welfare components “remain a sore point” that calls for immediate and drastic action, he continued, despite the fact that some non-monetary aspects of the agreement have been handled.
Since the government’s proposed pay increase is insignificant, we have rejected it. The most evident consequence of the government’s unwillingness to end this agreement is that Nigerian university instructors are being paid under the same system from 2009, when the naira was about ₦120 to the dollar, according to Igbafen.
“A professor at the bar earns less than $400 per month, which is a scandalous under-valuation of Nigerian scholars,” he claims, describing how the issue has gotten worse.
The 15-year pay freeze, according to him, is “wicked, inhuman, and a catalyst for resistance, industrial disharmony, and brain drain.”
Igbafen said that the positions and remarks of important government figures, such as the Minister of Education, had been “antithetical to a genuine and speedy resolution” of the conflict.
He contended that, considering the nation’s rising revenue profile, the Federal Government has no justification for not fulfilling its obligations.
Revenues in Nigeria Have Risen by More Than 70%—ASUU
The ASUU zonal coordinator cited official data and said: “States received a total of ₦3.92 trillion in 2022, while the figure for 2024 was ₦5.81 trillion, an increase of over 62 percent.”
“In a similar vein, the Federal Government generated revenue of ₦3.42 trillion in 2022 and ₦4.65 trillion in 2024, a massive increase of more than 70 percent.”
He maintained that what he described as a “lack of political will” was the cause of the ongoing problem rather than a shortage of resources.
Igbafen stated that the Benin Zone was ready to comply with any order from the National Executive Council of the union regarding the restart of the halted strike.
“Benin Zone of ASUU is prepared for the NEC of our union’s directive to resume the suspended strike action at the expiration of the given one-month window,” he concluded.
