Emmanuel Alegbe, Edo
Nigerian university lecturers have been on the same salary for more than 15 years, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) said on Monday, warning that a fresh nationwide strike could be imminent.
Speaking in Benin City, Edo State, ASUU’s Benin Zone Coordinator, Prof. Monday Igbafen, said the Federal Government had failed to resolve issues in the 2009 agreement within the one-month window previously given.
“It is regrettable that the government has again shown unwillingness to quickly and fully resolve outstanding issues to restore industrial harmony in our public universities,” Igbafen said, flanked by leaders from the zone’s universities.
He rejected the government’s proposed salary increment, calling it insufficient to address brain drain among Nigerian academics.
Igbafen said a professor’s monthly salary today remains below $400, despite increases in other sectors.
The union pointed to Nigeria’s growing revenue, noting that federal allocations to states rose from N3.92 trillion in 2022 to N5.81 trillion in 2024, while federal revenue increased from N3.42 trillion to N4.65 trillion over the same period.
“Economic factors are not the constraint; rather, it is a lack of political will,” Igbafen said. He added that the Benin Zone was prepared to resume strike action pending directives from the union’s national leadership.