While expectations are high among Nigerians for the next steps in the implementation of the newly signed renegotiation agreement between the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the workers’ union is already working towards ensuring the government’s full commitment to its implementation, even after the President Bola Tinubu-led administration.
The President of the union, Chris Piwuna, a professor, had earlier on Friday confirmed to this newspaper the signing of the new agreement by both the leadership of ASUU and the Chairman of the renegotiation committee, Yayale Ahmed, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, and Chairman of the Governing Council of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Kaduna State.
Other sources who are familiar with the development have confirmed to this newspaper that ASUU is preparing to lodge the new agreement with a competent law court as a legal instrument to make it binding on all parties.
ASUU to meet Falana
Meanwhile, towards ensuring that all the ‘is’ are dotted and ‘ts’ crossed, DevReporting has exclusively gathered that ASUU is set to meet its lead counsel and human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, to double-check the document, towards ensuring its justiceability and its binding power.
“Though the lawyer wasn’t part of the negotiation team, he was instrumental to the formulation of some of the positions taken by the union. So the presentation of the signed copy to him will be for formality and for possible interpretation and how to make it justiciable, so that whenever the government defaults again, the union will know what to do,” a source, who also does not want to be named, told this newspaper.
The source added that ASUU will ensure that the past mistake that caused the non-implementation of the 2009 FGN-ASUU agreement and the failure to get it renegotiated for more than 15 years will not be repeated.
“So, part of the next steps ASUU will be taking will be to lodge the latest agreement in court and make it a legal document so that, whether successive administrations have no choice but to respect it and continue its implementation. We will meet Mr Falana as the first step, and other things will follow,” the source added.
Agreement for submission 14 January
Meanwhile, the renegotiation committee is scheduled to present the signed agreement to the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, on Wednesday, 14 January 2026.
The minister, a medical doctor, is reported to have been instrumental in the signing of the agreement, especially at the last stage on 23 December, when disagreement between the union and the committee almost derailed the process.
Mr Alausa is expected to take the signed copy of the agreement to the Federal Executive Council (FEC), where the President is expected to give further directives.
However, ASUU has said the new agreement is expected to take effect from Thursday, 1 January 2026.
What the new agreement contains
Though the leadership of the renegotiation committee and that of ASUU have closely kept the newly signed agreement to their chests, denying the public access to the details, some snippets shared with ASUU members via a memo signed by Mr Piwuna indicate that almost all the issues in contention have been largely addressed.
The memo by ASUU President confirmed that part of the agreement is a 40 per cent increase in lecturers’ salaries, and that lecturers in professorial cadres will now be earmning a pension equivalent to their annual salary at retirement age of 70, and the establishment of a National Research Council (NRC) with statutory funding of at least one per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Other sources also added that the government has also expressed commitment to improving funding of university education and a respect for university autonomy, which has already been provided for in the University Autonomy Act.
