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•After years of strikes, can Nigeria’s tertiary institutions enjoy stability?
From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
On October 13, 2026, the Federal Government unveiled 12 agreements with academic and non-academic staff unions in tertiary institutions, following a similar agreement with academic staff under the umbrella of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in December 2025.
The development raised hopes of improved staff welfare and industrial harmony, even as union leaders called for full implementation of outstanding provisions, payment of arrears and the fulfilment of commitments made during negotiations.
Minister for Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, presided over the meeting. Among those represented were the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) and Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), alongside Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Polytechnics (SSANIP), NOTSUP and SSUCOEN.
For a sector repeatedly disrupted by strikes, the unveiling represented another attempt to move beyond the cycle of negotiations, agreements and industrial confrontations that has left students stranded, parents frustrated and academic calendars unpredictable.
But whether the latest agreements will usher in lasting peace depends on a question that has followed previous settlements: will the government and unions implement their promises fully, consistently and on time?
For students, the stakes are particularly high. A strike that often lasts weeks or months can extend a four-year degree programme, disrupt graduation plans, increase the cost of accommodation and feeding, and force families to spend more than they budgeted for their children’s education.
For lecturers and non-teaching staff, unresolved welfare concerns, unpaid allowances and withheld salaries can deepen dissatisfaction and undermine morale. Institutions, meanwhile, struggle to sustain teaching, research and administrative services when industrial disputes repeatedly interrupt their operations.
But the government is hoping that the latest agreements, alongside the December 2025 settlement with ASUU, will provide a more coordinated framework for addressing these problems.
One of the central commitments is that four-year programmes should be completed within four years, without the recurring interruptions that have become a defining feature of Nigeria’s tertiary education system.
Twelve agreements, one approach
The October 13th, 2026, unveiling of the agreement apparently brought together 12 agreements intended to address long-standing industrial disputes involving academic and non-academic unions across the tertiary education system.
The participating unions include Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), College of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), as well as the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANIP), Non-Academic Staff Union of Tertiary Institutions and other participating unions, including NOTSUP and SSUCOEN.
Beyond the formal recognition of the agreements, the government has presented the collective approach as an effort to reduce fragmented negotiations and establish a more consistent system for handling the concerns of workers across different categories of institutions.
Findings revealed that a major component of the agreement was the introduction of new allowances designed to recognise the different responsibilities of academic and non-academic staff.
For instance, the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance (CATA) was intended for eligible teaching staff represented by unions such as ASUP and COEASU, while the Consolidated Non-Teaching Tools Allowance (CONTTA), was intended for eligible non-academic staff, including members of SSANU and NASU.
According to the information presented at the unveiling, payment of the allowances has commenced, with the entitlements backdated to January 1, 2026.
The allowances are significant because staff welfare has remained a recurring source of tension in the sector. However, their long-term value will depend not only on their introduction but also on whether eligible workers receive the payments consistently and without avoidable delays.
The agreements also seek to establish a framework through which disputes can be addressed before they escalate into strikes. For a sector in which unresolved disagreements have repeatedly led to shutdowns, the success of that framework could determine whether the latest settlement marks a genuine turning point.
Negotiation without confrontation
At the centre of the renegotiation process was the chairman of the Federal Government’s tertiary institutions expanded negotiation committee, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, whose experience in public service was acknowledged by participants at the ceremony.
Ahmed said his involvement in the process had not been something he initially anticipated. “When President Bola Tinubu appointed me a pro-chancellor, I had hesitated because I felt tired after years of public service. But I was, however, persuaded to pick up the responsibility to continue serving the country.
“But subsequently, I became involved in broader engagements with university governing councils and was eventually asked to lead negotiations with ASUU and other unions,” he said.
Reflecting on the assignment, Ahmed admitted that the scale of the challenge was considerable, suggesting that he might have declined had he fully understood its demands at the outset. Yet his account of the negotiations offered insight into the approach he believed helped move the process forward.
Rather than treating the government and unions as opposing camps, he said negotiators needed to understand the circumstances, expectations and concerns of the people across the table.
He urged members of the committee to empathise with the unions, understand where they were coming from and appreciate what they hoped to achieve.
Alhaji Ahmed said successful negotiation was not about one side defeating the other, but required concessions from both parties. “The union has to give, government has to give, in the spirit of give-and-take,” he said.
He also recalled that negotiations could be difficult, with union representatives sometimes addressing him respectfully as “baba”, “daddy” or “sir” while simultaneously expressing a lack of confidence in his leadership. “But I refused to be intimidated by such moments. Instead, I focused on keeping discussions open and ensuring that disagreements did not become personal confrontations,” he said.
Ahmed praised the union leaders for defending their members’ interests while, in his view, also showing an understanding of the government’s position. He equally acknowledged the support of Alausa and the Minister of State for Education, Prof Suwaiba Sa’id Ahmad.
However, he cautioned that the unveiling ceremony was only the beginning of a more demanding phase. “The real test would be the government’s commitment to fully implement the agreements,” he said.
The unions’ leaders however agreed that the warning captured the central concern surrounding the new settlement, insisting that
Nigeria’s tertiary education sector has witnessed agreements before, but their provisions have not always been implemented quickly or completely enough to prevent fresh disputes.
Monitoring the implementation
The Federal Government proposed expanding the existing ASUU Implementation and Monitoring Committee (IMC) to cover agreements with academic and non-academic unions.
The proposed broader committee is expected to include representatives of the different unions and relevant stakeholders, giving them a common platform to monitor implementation, raise concerns and seek solutions to emerging disagreements.
Alausa said he wanted the committee to become a permanent mechanism for managing industrial relations in the sector.
The arrangement was intended to reduce the tendency for disputes to linger until unions resort to strikes or public protests. By bringing the parties together regularly, the government hopes that complaints can be identified and resolved before they disrupt teaching and other academic activities.
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The agreements also contain a three-year review clause, allowing the parties to assess implementation, identify emerging issues and make adjustments through dialogue.
Alausa urged union leaders to use the monitoring mechanism rather than immediately taking unresolved matters to the press or threatening industrial action. He maintained that strikes should not be the first response to disagreements.
He also appealed to the unions to consider the country’s financial circumstances when making demands, arguing that sustainable agreements must take account of the government’s capacity to meet its obligations.
At the same time, his remarks placed responsibility on government officials to ensure that approved payments reached their intended beneficiaries.
He criticised delays in payment processes that leave workers bearing the consequences of administrative decisions over which they have no control.
Public funds allocated for payments to beneficiaries, he stressed, were not the personal money of officials handling them. Those responsible, he said, must make every effort to ensure that the amounts due are paid. “We are telling you that we do not want this problem to happen again,” the minister said.
The Minister said the message was a recognition that industrial peace cannot be sustained through appeals to workers alone, insisting that government institutions must also fulfil financial and administrative commitments in a timely manner.
THE DEMAND FOR FULL IMPLEMENTATION
Despite the optimism surrounding the unveiling, union representatives welcomed the progress but made it clear that important issues remain unresolved.
Representatives of SSANU and NASU called for full implementation of the 2026 agreements and raised concerns about outstanding wage award arrears and two months of withheld salaries.
They said plans for industrial action were being reconsidered following steps taken by the government in the preceding week. However, they maintained that the outstanding issues required urgent attention.
Their position illustrated the delicate balance facing the government: progress in negotiations may ease tensions, but unpaid entitlements can quickly revive dissatisfaction if they remain unresolved.
The concerns also show why the timing of payments is as important as the formal recognition of workers’ entitlements. Where staff are expected to suspend industrial action in response to government assurances, delays in fulfilling those assurances can weaken confidence in the process.
ASUP, on its part, acknowledged that negotiations had progressed more quickly than in some previous rounds. Its representative said discussions began in December 2025 and the agreement was signed in April 2026.
The union acknowledged progress on payments and arrears but called for the full implementation of non-financial provisions before the end of 2026.
“That part is important because industrial agreements often extend beyond salaries and allowances. Other provisions may concern working conditions, institutional administration and the broader environment in which academic staff discharge their responsibilities,” he said.
COEASU’s representative, on his side, said more than 70 per cent of the agreement had been implemented, with payments made through September. The union nevertheless called for the outstanding provisions to be completed and urged the government to ensure that agreements with other unions received comparable attention.
Another concern raised during the engagement was the need for official circulars covering NASU and other agreements so that institutions could operationalise the provisions.
“Without the necessary administrative guidance, agreements reached at the federal level may not translate smoothly into action across individual institutions. Delays in issuing circulars or communicating implementation procedures could create uncertainty among university, polytechnic and college of education managers and their staff.
“These concerns reinforce Ahmed’s warning that the ceremony must not be mistaken for the completion of the process. The agreements have to be translated into measurable changes in workers’ conditions and institutional operations,” he said.
THE COST OF ANOTHER BREAKDOWN
For students and their families, the promise of industrial peace is not merely a matter of better relations between government and unions. It is a question of time, money and the reliability of the education system.
When strikes interrupt academic activities, students may spend additional months or years completing programmes that should have ended earlier. Families may pay extra rent and living expenses, while students entering the labour market face delays in pursuing employment or further education.
Repeated disruptions can also damage the reputation of institutions and complicate research schedules, professional training and collaboration with external partners. The consequences extend beyond campuses.
Employers depend on universities, polytechnics and colleges of education to produce graduates with the knowledge and skills required by the economy. An unreliable academic calendar can make it more difficult for students to plan their futures and for institutions to deliver training predictably.
The government’s objective of ensuring that four-year programmes are completed within four years therefore represents more than an administrative target. It is a test of whether industrial relations can be managed without repeatedly transferring the cost of disputes to students.
But a stable academic calendar cannot be guaranteed by agreement documents alone. It requires predictable funding, timely payment of entitlements, effective communication, credible monitoring and a willingness by all parties to address disagreements before they become crises.
To this end, the Education Minister argued that industrial harmony would create a better environment for teaching, research and learning. He thus praised President Tinubu’s role in providing the political support needed to secure the agreements, describing the administration’s commitments in terms of promises made and kept.
The challenge now is to ensure that such assurances are reflected in the day-to-day experiences of staff and students.
MEASURING PERFORMANCE
The October 13th ceremony has provided a fresh opportunity for the Federal Government and tertiary education unions to move away from the familiar pattern of confrontation and settlement.
The expanded monitoring committee, the three-year review clause and the introduction of CATA and CONTTA offer mechanisms through which some of the recurring concerns may be addressed. The inclusion of both academic and non-academic unions also creates an opportunity for a more coordinated approach to industrial relations across the sector.
Yet the concerns raised by union representatives show that confidence remains conditional. Outstanding arrears, incomplete non-financial provisions and delays in issuing implementation circulars must be resolved if the agreements are to command lasting credibility.
For Ahmed and his committee, the measure of success is implementation. For the unions, it is the fulfilment of commitments and the resolution of outstanding welfare issues. For government, it is the possibility of maintaining industrial harmony while working within the country’s financial realities. For students and parents, the expectation is simpler: uninterrupted teaching, predictable academic calendars and graduation at the time promised.
The union members said that Nigeria’s tertiary institutions have heard assurances of industrial peace before. But what would distinguish the latest agreements is not the number of documents unveiled or the speeches delivered at the ceremony, but whether workers receive what they are owed, disputes are settled through dialogue and students can complete their programmes without repeated interruptions.
They insisted that the real verdict on the agreements will emerge in the months ahead, and If both sides honour their commitments, the October 13 settlement could become a turning point in the management of industrial relations in tertiary education. But If implementation falters, the sector could risk returning to the same cycle of unmet expectations, threats of strikes and disrupted academic calendars.
