Lagos, Nigeria – November 2025: The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has strongly criticised the federal government’s recent proposal to raise university lecturers’ salaries by 35%, calling it grossly insufficient to meet the needs of Nigerian academics. The union described the offer as “woefully inadequate” amid growing concerns over decades of underfunding in the nation’s higher education sector.
Speaking at a press briefing on Tuesday at the Lagos State University of Education (LASUED), the Lagos Zonal Coordinator for ASUU, Prof. Adesola Nassir, argued that even with the proposed increment, university salaries remain among the lowest in Africa. He emphasised that the raise does not reflect the years of economic challenges and professional demands faced by academic staff.
“The 35% increase is almost symbolic and fails to bring Nigerian academics anywhere close to a living standard comparable with their peers abroad,” Nassir said. “A professor today earns about 400 dollars monthly, a sharp drop from 3,000 dollars in 2009. Even with this increment, salaries will not reach a million naira, and after taxes, it falls further to around 700,000 naira.”
Nassir warned that the inadequate compensation continues to fuel brain drain, as many skilled academics leave the country for better-paying opportunities abroad, ultimately undermining the quality of education.
The union also raised alarms about the chronic underfunding of Nigerian universities. According to Nassir, government spending on education has remained below 10% of the national budget for over a decade, with current allocations dropping below 1% of GDP. In contrast, countries like Egypt and South Africa allocate between 2% and 6% of their GDP to education, underscoring the severity of Nigeria’s funding gap.
“The education sector is at a critical juncture. Without urgent and meaningful investments, the consequences for our students and the nation’s future will be dire,” Nassir said, calling on Nigerians to support ASUU in demanding higher funding and better remuneration for university staff.
Negotiations between ASUU and the federal government are ongoing, but the union has warned that failure to meet their demands could result in an indefinite strike, potentially shutting down public universities nationwide. “Unless the government honours the 2009 agreement, a complete closure of public universities may become inevitable,” Nassir concluded, stressing the urgent need for action.
