The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has berated the Federal Government over what it described as the “haphazard” implementation of the renegotiated agreement on Earned Academic Allowances (EAA).
ASUU President Chris Piwuna spoke in an interview with TheCable on Thursday, saying the unpaid EAA has now stretched to 18 months.
After nearly 16 years of stalled implementation, the Federal Government signed a renegotiated agreement with ASUU on January 14 to address persistent strikes in Nigeria’s public universities.
The agreement followed intensive negotiations between a Federal Government committee and ASUU leadership, concluded in December 2025.
However, since February, there have been reported delays in the payment of lecturers’ salaries across federal universities.
This has triggered widespread agitation across ASUU branches, with chapters warning of possible industrial action if the agreements signed with the union are not fully implemented.
The ASUU president said lecturers are frustrated with what he described as the poor handling of the agreement by the Federal Ministry of Education, particularly regarding the EAA.
“Our members across the branches feel the pinch, so their responses are expected,” he said.
“The Federal Ministry of Education has gone to sleep. We intend to wake them up. When the drums start beating, be sure of what will follow.”
Piwuna said the government cannot sign an agreement and then force vice-chancellors to fund its implementation.
“We agreed that EAA should be mainstreamed to address the problem of accumulated arrears. They are back to the mess of EAA arrears again,” he said.
He noted that the government had previously promised “professional allowances” for university lecturers, but implementation has now stalled.
“Some VCs can’t pay it,” he said.
“Our promotion arrears have been waiting for the approval of the Minister of Finance. Now they say the new minister has to settle down. We are tired of your tactics. We are fed up,” he added.
Piwuna said the EAA was meant to be mainstreamed into lecturers’ salaries, but this has not been implemented since January.
“We are literally back to the Ngige era of never-ending EAA renegotiation,” he said.
“The truth is that we have not received it (EAA) for 18 months.
“It was mainstreamed in the 2025 budget. They did not implement it. This current minister said it would start in January this year. Nothing.”
He further explained that after the December 2025 agreement, three allowances were added to salaries, including a 40 percent component covering journal, conference, and book allowances, as well as professorial allowances and a portion of EAA.
“All these have been implemented in the most haphazard manner you could ever imagine,” he said.
