ASUU Rejects Federal Government’s Proposed Salary Increase

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Benin Zone, has rejected the Federal Government’s proposed salary increment for university lecturers.

Zonal Coordinator, Prof. Monday Lewis Igbafen, announced the union’s position during a press briefing in Benin, describing the offer as “a mere drop in the ocean” that cannot address the worsening brain drain affecting Nigeria’s university system.

According to Igbafen, the Federal Government has once again shown “a blatant unwillingness” to comprehensively resolve lingering issues in the education sector. He urged the government to conclude the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU agreement and address related concerns without delay.

“The salary and conditions of service remain a major sore point requiring a radical and sincere approach to prevent another crisis,” he said.

He added that the current salary structure, unchanged since 2009 when the naira traded at N120 to the dollar, has become grossly inadequate, especially as salaries in other sectors have been reviewed upward multiple times.

Igbafen insisted that the union would no longer tolerate the government’s slow and inconsistent negotiation tactics, saying: “This half-hearted ‘we are talking with ASUU’ approach without results must stop.”