ASUU UNIMAID to FG: Fulfil 2009 Agreement or Face Continuous Agitation
Members of ASUU UNIMAID during a peaceful protest, calling on the Federal Government to honor its promises and improve conditions in universities.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) branch, on Monday staged a peaceful protest to express its dissatisfaction over the Federal Government’s continued failure to honour agreements reached with the union, particularly the 2009 agreement.
During the protest, lecturers carried placards with bold inscriptions such as Professors retire into poverty, is this your gratitude? Respect our labour, stop the insult. We are not here for a loan, we are here for our pay, and “You build universities for politics, we build them for knowledge.
Speaking during the demonstration, Dr. Abubakar Mshelia Saidu, Chairperson of ASUU UNIMAID, lamented that professors who dedicated over 40 years of their lives to teaching and research were retiring on as little as ₦150,000 monthly pension. He described the situation as disgraceful and a stain on the nation’s integrity.
Dr. Saidu also criticized the government’s continuous establishment of new universities for political reasons instead of revitalizing existing ones. We are not against building new universities, but the priority should be to strengthen the ones we already have provide research funds, facilities, and conducive learning environments, he stated.
The union further rejected the students loan scheme, stressing that the initiative fails to address the root issues. What lecturers and students need is not loans, but fulfillment of outstanding agreements and adequate funding for Nigerian universities, the chairperson added.
The 2009 ASUU-FG agreement outlined commitments including improved salaries and welfare for lecturers, provision of funds for research and teaching facilities, greater university autonomy, and a ₦220 billion annual revitalization fund for universities to address infrastructural decay.
Despite these commitments, successive governments have repeatedly failed to implement the agreement in full. Multiple committees have been set up from the Wale Babalakin Committee in 2017 to the Nimi Briggs Committee in 2022, and most recently the Yayale Ahmed Committee in 2024, yet concrete action has remained elusive. This cycle of unfulfilled promises has triggered recurring strikes and protests by ASUU.
ASUU reiterated that its protest is not about demanding new benefits but about compelling the Federal Government to honour promises made over 15 years ago. The union insists that without immediate intervention, the future of Nigerian universities and the prospects of millions of students remain at risk.
