Editorial note: This post summarises some major provisions of the agreement reached between the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Academic Staff Union of Universities in 2009. It does not reproduce every provision of the complete document. The original agreement covered conditions of service, university funding, academic freedom, university autonomy and other matters affecting Nigeria’s public universities. The full 2009 FGN–ASUU Agreement may be consulted for further details.
Mandate
Before the commencement of negotiations, representatives of both the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Academic Staff Union of Universities affirmed that they had the mandate of their respective principals to renegotiate the agreement.
Issues for Renegotiation
Both teams agreed that the following issues would form the agenda and focus of the negotiations:
Conditions of service
Funding
University autonomy and academic freedom
Other matters
Conditions of Service
Salary Structure for Academic Staff
Both teams agreed to a salary structure for academic staff in Nigerian universities known as the Consolidated University Academic Salary Structure II, or CONUASS II.
CONUASS II consisted of three components:
The Consolidated University Academic Salary Structure approved by the Federal Government with effect from 1 January 2007.
Consolidated Peculiar University Academic Allowances, known as CONPUAA, exclusively for university teaching staff and derived from allowances not adequately reflected in CONUASS.
Rent allowance as approved by the Federal Government with effect from 1 January 2007.
Earned Academic Allowances
It was agreed that qualified academic staff would receive the following allowances for carrying out the listed responsibilities.
Postgraduate Supervision Allowance
| Academic rank | Amount per student per year |
|---|---|
| Lecturer I | ₦15,000 |
| Senior Lecturer | ₦20,000 |
| Reader or Professor | ₦25,000 |
Teaching Practice, Industrial Supervision and Field Trip Allowance
| Academic rank | Annual allowance |
|---|---|
| Assistant Lecturer to Lecturer I | ₦60,000 |
| Senior Lecturer | ₦80,000 |
| Reader or Professor | ₦100,000 |
Honoraria for External Postgraduate Examiners
| Examination | Amount per thesis |
|---|---|
| Master’s degree | ₦80,000 |
| Doctoral degree | ₦105,000 |
Honoraria for Internal Postgraduate Examiners
| Examination | Amount per thesis |
|---|---|
| Master’s degree | ₦45,000 |
| Doctoral degree | ₦65,000 |
Responsibility Allowance
The following annual responsibility allowances were agreed:
| Position | Annual allowance |
|---|---|
| Deputy Vice-Chancellor or University Librarian | ₦750,000 |
| Provost, Dean or Director | ₦500,000 |
| Deputy, Vice or Associate Dean or Provost | ₦350,000 |
| Head of Department or Sub-Dean | ₦250,000 |
| Faculty or Departmental Examination Officer | ₦150,000 |
| Hall Warden | ₦150,000 |
| Other designated officers | ₦150,000 |
Excess Workload Allowance
Excess workload allowances were to be paid as follows:
| Academic rank | Rate per hour |
|---|---|
| Professor | ₦3,500 |
| Reader | ₦3,500 |
| Senior Lecturer | ₦3,500 |
| Lecturer I | ₦2,000 |
| Lecturer II | ₦2,000 |
| Assistant Lecturer | ₦2,000 |
| Graduate Assistant | ₦2,000 |
The agreement stated that excess workload allowance was to be paid only to academic staff who were genuinely entitled to it.
Other Conditions of Service
Academic staff were also to enjoy other benefits as part of their conditions of service. These included:
housing loans;
vehicle or car-refurbishing loans;
annual vacation leave;
maternity leave;
research leave;
sick leave; and
sabbatical leave.
Funding of Federal Universities
The agreement recommended that regular federal universities would require a total of ₦1,518,331,545,304 for the period from 2009 to 2011.
The proposed funding was distributed as follows:
| Year | Proposed amount |
|---|---|
| 2009 | ₦472,031,575,919 |
| 2010 | ₦497,531,778,701 |
| 2011 | ₦548,768,190,684 |
| Total | ₦1,518,331,545,304 |
Funding of State Universities
The agreement estimated that each state university would require ₦3,680,018 per student for the three-year period from 2009 to 2011.
| Year | Proposed amount per student |
|---|---|
| 2009 | ₦1,144,075 |
| 2010 | ₦1,205,880 |
| 2011 | ₦1,330,063 |
| Total | ₦3,680,018 |
Budgetary Allocation to Education
The renegotiation committee agreed to recommend that:
a minimum of 26 per cent of the annual budgets of federal and state governments should be allocated to education; and
at least half of the proposed 26 per cent education allocation should be given to the universities.
University Autonomy and Academic Freedom
The Federal Government agreed that the powers of university governing councils and senates should be fully respected.
One major source of disagreement was the use of government circulars in university administration. Some of these circulars conflicted with the statutory powers of university councils and senates and undermined due process in the operation of universities.
The agreement therefore recognised the need to protect the authority of university governing councils and senates in accordance with the laws establishing the institutions.
Effective Date of the Agreement
The agreement took effect from 1 July 2009.
However, the effective date for the retirement age of 70 years for academics in the professorial cadre was notionally fixed at 1 January 2009.
Periodic Review
It was agreed that the agreement would be periodically reviewed.
Whenever there was a general increase in public-sector salaries and allowances, the remuneration of academic staff was also expected to be correspondingly increased.
Protection Against Victimisation
The agreement concluded with the following assurance:
Nobody shall be victimised in any way whatsoever for his or her role in the process leading to the renegotiation and agreement.
Update: July 2026
The 2009 agreement remained a major source of dispute between ASUU and successive federal administrations for many years. Disagreements over its implementation and renegotiation contributed to several university strikes.
A renegotiation process began in 2017 and continued through different committees and administrations. The National Universities Commission reported in January 2026 that the Federal Government and ASUU had concluded a new agreement following the prolonged renegotiation of the 2009 agreement.
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