THE Federal Government has offered a 40 per cent salary increase to academic staff in Nigerian public universities as part of renewed negotiations with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), highly placed sources confirmed on Monday.
News Point Nigeria reports that the proposal was tabled before the union ahead of a fresh negotiation session with the government’s committee led by former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Yayale Ahmed.
The latest development followed ASUU’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Abuja on Sunday, where branch leaders agreed to return to the negotiation table. They are expected to brief their congresses on the outcome of the meeting.
A NEC member, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to negotiation protocols, said the union welcomed discussions but insisted that no decision had been reached.
“They made a proposal of a 40% salary increment. Branch leaders will go back and update members on the situation. As it stands, negotiations will continue with the government next week,” the source told our correspondent.
ASUU’s one-month ultimatum to the government expired on Saturday, raising fears of a looming shutdown of public universities. In response, the government convened an emergency meeting with the union in Abuja on Monday, which continued into Tuesday. Both sides maintained strict confidentiality as mandated by the negotiation guidelines.
The union has repeatedly accused the Federal Government of a “nonchalant attitude” toward its long-standing demands, which include: Renegotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FG agreement, payment of outstanding salaries and earned academic allowances, release of the university revitalisation fund and improved welfare and working conditions for academic staff.
However, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, insists that the government has already met “virtually all” of ASUU’s demands. Speaking at the State House two weeks ago, Alausa said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had directed that public universities must not embark on another strike.
“The President has mandated us that he doesn’t want ASUU to go on strike, and we’re doing everything humanly possible to ensure that our students stay in school. The six-day strike they went on was unnecessary. We’ve met most of their demands and are back at the negotiation table,” he said.
As both sides prepare for another round of talks next week, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has declared that it stands firmly with ASUU. The labour body warned that it will intervene if the government fails to honour its promises to the academic community.
The weeks ahead are expected to determine whether the new salary proposal will be enough to avert another nationwide shutdown of public universities.
