FG to inject N30bn into 74 federal universities as unions demand full pact implementation

The Federal Government has concluded plans to inject an additional N30 billion over the next three years to stabilise and rehabilitate the nation’s 74 federal universities, alongside their regular annual budgetary allocations.

The intervention, which forms part of the recently concluded agreement between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), will be disbursed under a scheme tagged the Stabilisation and Restoration Fund. The fund will be paid in three equal instalments of N10 billion annually from 2026 to 2028 and managed by the National Universities Commission (NUC).

According to Section 4.3.3 of the agreement, the Federal Government committed to providing the N30 billion as part of efforts to address persistent challenges in the federal university system.

In addition, the government plans to progressively increase budgetary allocation to the education sector to 15 per cent, in line with the recommendation of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). The agreement proposes a yearly increment of 2.5 per cent, the allocation of 50 per cent of the total education capital budget to universities, and the retention of the policy of non-payment of undergraduate tuition fees.

Education experts have welcomed the intervention, noting that if transparently managed and judiciously applied, the fund could help reverse years of infrastructural decay, improve teaching and learning facilities, and boost research capacity in federal universities. They, however, cautioned that sustained funding, strict accountability and effective monitoring would be critical to achieving lasting impact rather than short-term relief.

Despite UNESCO’s recommendation that countries devote between 15 and 20 per cent of public expenditure to education, Nigeria has consistently fallen short of the benchmark. Data show that federal education spending between 1999 and 2026 ranged from a low of 1.69 per cent in 2011 to a peak of 13 per cent in 2008.

Although the Federal Government earmarked N3.52 trillion for education in the proposed N58.47 trillion 2026 budget currently before the National Assembly, stakeholders have described the allocation as inadequate. Omole Ibukun, Initiator of the Creative Change Centre, said the figure represents just 6.02 per cent of the total budget and remains far below what is required to address the sector’s deep-rooted challenges.

Meanwhile, the Congress of University Academics (CONUA) has distanced itself from the FG–ASUU agreement, insisting that it was not a party to the pact and calling on the government to accelerate negotiations with all recognised university unions.

In an interview with The Guardian, CONUA National President, Dr ‘Niyi Sunmonu, reaffirmed the union’s independence and legal status, dismissing suggestions that it could be absorbed into another academic union. He said CONUA’s registration and recognition had been validated by the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) and supported by International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions.

Sunmonu acknowledged the conclusion of negotiations between the Federal Government and ASUU, describing it as an outcome of the long-standing 2009 agreement that had lingered unresolved for years. He stressed, however, that a truly sustainable resolution of challenges in the university system would require inclusive, sector-wide engagement with all academic and non-academic unions.