The Academic Staff Union of Universities, Akure Zone, has urged the federal government to meet the demands of the union and fix existing universities rather than establishing new ones.Â
The Zonal Coordinator, ASUU, Akure Zone, Professor Adeola Egbedokun made the appeal on Thursday during a press conference held at the main campus of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.
Prof. Egbedokun who was flanked by Anthony Odiwe (ASUU chairman, OAU), Bamidele Mogaji (ASUU chairman, FUTA),Sola Afolayan (ASUU Chairman, EKSU), Abayomi Fagbuagun (ASUU chairman, UNIMEDO), Abraham Oladebeye (ASUU chairman, FUOYE) and Bosun Ajisafe (ASUU chairman, AFUED), said the federal government should concentrate on funding existing universities adequately.
He noted that ASUU members expressed deep concern over the government’s inconsistent and dilatory approach to agreements, promises, and negotiations during the National Executive Council meeting held at the Taraba State University, Jalingo, on the 8th and 9th of November 2025.
He said: “NEC observes with grave disappointment the government’s continued failure to prioritise education, treating it as a commercial commodity rather than a social investment and a cornerstone of national development. This short-sighted orientation undermines the collective aspiration for a prosperous and self-reliant Nigeria.
“In reviewing the progress of the renegotiation process since the suspension of the warning strike, NEC rejects outrightly the proposed salary adjustment as a tokenistic and insulting gesture—a mere drop in the ocean that cannot stem the exodus of scholars or restore dignity to the academic profession.
“In clear terms, the Union has rejected the offer of a 35% increase on the current salary of academics. While modest progress may have been recorded in some non-monetary areas, the critical issues of salary and conditions of service remain unresolved and demand decisive and courageous intervention.
“With only a few days left in the agreed one-month window, the government must act with clarity, commitment, and integrity to reach a comprehensive and lasting resolution.
“Nothing short of a fair and respectable living wage for Nigerian academics is acceptable. Let it be clearly stated: the surest way to secure Nigeria’s future is to invest meaningfully in education. Any government that neglects education mortgages the destiny of its people.”
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Addressing journalists after the press conference, Prof. Egbedokun, said most of the new generation universities were not up to standard, noting that the government should focus on adequately funding the older universities rather than approving the establishment of new ones.
Prof Egbedokun said: “A few months back, the government came up with a kind of moratorium of seven years. One of the agitations of our union is this issue of proliferation of universities, especially at the Federal and state levels and we were coming from the point of view that rather than proliferate, why not take care of the existing ones?
“Agreed that for seven years, no license will be granted to any university again, but we all saw what happened a few days ago when we heard that a new university was granted a license. I think the government of Nigeria should live up to its words. Let your yes be yes and no be no. Is seven years the same thing as seven days?
“It is important to state this, if you are talking about first-generation universities in Nigeria, that is where you will find the full complement of staff. However, the third and fourth generation universities, in terms of personnel and infrastructure, I have seen a university in Nigeria where you will only find about three buildings, and before you know it, they have admitted up to 10,000 students. Is that a university?
“I think rather than for the government to keep creating these crisis centers, governments should concentrate their energy on adequately funding the first, second, and third generation universities in Nigeria. But rather than do that, they are creating constituency projects so that after they leave office, they can point at one cubicle somewhere to say they facilitated a university when they were in office.”
Speaking further, the ASUU Zonal Coordinator urged the federal government to reconsider the cost of governance, noting that political office holders were being paid huge amounts of money while ordinary Nigerians live in penury.
“The essence of governance is to cater to the welfare of the entire citizenry, not just a select few. We all know how the political class in Nigeria squanders our money. The amount of billions of naira that they share from time to time.
“Comparing that with the percentage of Nigerians who are living in penury, I think that for us as intellectuals, the government should reconsider the cost of governance. There is a lot of money they spend on political office holders.
“Also, we all know the status of our economy in the country. We are not asking for the government to pay us a huge amount per month. We have a baseline and the document was submitted to the President of Nigeria,” Professor Egbedokun added.
