After more than a decade and a half of deadlock, the federal government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) have finally reached a breakthrough, bringing an end to the prolonged renegotiation impasse over the 2009 agreement.

The agreement was reached on Wednesday, following intensive engagements between both parties, and is expected to take effect from January 1, 2026, with a review scheduled after three years.

Sunday Oloruntola, dean at the Faculty of Communication and Media Studies at the University of Lagos confirmed this in chat with BusinessDay, when he emphaised the need for peace to reign, though he expressed concerns over implementation.

Major provisions in the new agreement include a 40 percent salary increase for academic staff and significantly improved pension benefits.

Under the new pension structure, professors are to retire at the age of 70 on pensions equivalent to their full annual salaries, a long-standing demand of the union.

The deal also introduces a revamped university funding model with dedicated allocations for research, libraries, laboratories, equipment, and staff development.

In addition, it proposes the establishment of a National Research Council to fund research with a minimum of one percent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

It also confirmed that there is stronger university autonomy and academic freedom form a core part of the agreement, alongside provisions for elected academic leadership at the level of deans and provosts, positions to be occupied strictly by professors.

The agreement also guarantees that no member of the union will be victimised for their role in the prolonged struggle.

Oloruntola who explained that the announcement of new development is already on ASUU platform emphasised that the agreement is a major breakthrough for the university system after years of prolonged impasse.

He said for the sake of peace the union had to make some sacrifices, stressing that the agreement encompasses issues such as salary, pension, funding, autonomy and governance which have clogged the wheel of development and progress across Nigerian public universities.

He reiterated that the union looks forward to prompt implementation by the federal government to avoid a repeat of past failures.

“We expect full and prompt implementation. The federal government should be sincere and timely with the implementation,” he emphasised.