•Tinubu
The federal government has declared the era of strikes in Nigerian tertiary institutions as permanently over, assuring parents, students, and the general public that universities and polytechnics will remain open for all academic sessions.
Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, who gave the assurance at the presentation of awards to winners of the students venture capital grant initiative in Lagos, said government had resolved longstanding disputes with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) under the FG/ASUU 2025 agreement and was close to finalising an agreement with the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU).
On January 14, 2026, the federal government and ASUU signed an agreement that includes a 40 per cent salary increase for academic staff, improved pensions, and a commitment to better university funding, reports The Guardian.
The minister described recent reports of imminent strike action by university teachers as untrue, saying the federal government has resolved all issues concerning the union.
“Our tertiary institutions will continue to remain open for all academic sessions. Please don’t worry about strikes. We’ve also resolved issues with the non-academic staff union, and that agreement will be signed in the coming weeks,” Alausa said.
“The academic staff are happy. This is an agreement that went into a quagmire for 20 years, and we have fixed it in totality. This is one government that believes in our youth. They are the heartbeat of this nation, and we have to keep them engaged in school.”
On the status of salary payments, the minister revealed that the 40 per cent increase has kicked off in some of the institutions, assuring that it will be implemented without any problem.
“Even without the passage of the 2026 budget, almost 90 to 95 per cent of our tertiary institutions, starting with universities, have started paying the increase without any problem,” Alausa stated.
On NASU, the minister said the government had met with the union leadership and would finalise their agreement in the coming weeks.
“Please be patient with us. We have drafted that agreement, and it will be signed soon. Our commitment is to ensure all staff in tertiary institutions benefit and that students’ education continues uninterrupted,” he said.
