FG Promises End to University Strikes

For many students, one fear has always followed them through school—“Will ASUU strike again?”

The Federal Government now says that fear should be a thing of the past.
Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, has assured that strikes in universities and polytechnics are “over,” following a new agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

According to him, the January 2026 deal includes a 40 per cent salary increase for lecturers, improved pensions, and better funding for institutions.

He also dismissed recent reports of a possible strike ultimatum, describing them as false and saying the ASUU president was quoted out of context.

“We’ve solved this in totality… Strikes have been cured in eternity,” he said.
The government is also close to sealing a similar agreement with the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), which could further stabilise campuses.

Interestingly, the minister revealed that most universities have already started paying the new salary increase—even before the 2026 budget was passed.
He added that checks with institutions like the University of Lagos showed no ongoing strikes, blaming earlier reports on local misunderstandings.

For students, this sounds like the stability they’ve always wanted—no sudden breaks, no extended graduation dates, no wasted academic years.

But if there’s one thing students have learned over time, it’s this: promises about strikes are easy to make, but harder to keep.

So while this feels like good news, many will wait to see if this is truly the end of a long, familiar cycle or just another pause before the next one.

— The Punch