The Congress of University Academics (CONUA) has called on the Federal Government to review lecturers’ salaries in line with Nigeria’s current economic realities.
CONUA President, Prof. Niyi Sunmonu, made the appeal on Saturday in Abuja while reacting to the government’s release of N50 billion for Earned Academic Allowances for university staff.
Sunmonu said the rising cost of living, driven by inflation, made a salary review imperative.
“More important to us than any academic allowance is the improvement of our salaries to match the country’s inflationary pressures,” he said. “In October 2024, the government excluded us from renegotiations, prompting our protest. We felt that the agreement our sister union negotiated would plunge us deeper into poverty.”
He recalled that in 2009, a minimum salary of N1.2 million was proposed for professors, but it was rejected by the sister union on the grounds that it was not a product of proper negotiation.
“By rejecting that proposal, we believe we were negotiating ourselves into poverty, hence our protest at the time,” Sunmonu added.
Despite these concerns, Sunmonu commended the Federal Government for releasing the N50 billion in Earned Academic Allowances.
On the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement, he criticised the exclusion of CONUA from the process, noting that the last physical meeting the union attended was on 20 December 2024.
“We recently learnt, on 5 April 2025, that Alhaji Yayale Ahmed’s committee had submitted its report without our input. We have protested publicly and written to the Minister of Education, warning that excluding CONUA could endanger the current peace on campuses,” he said.
Sunmonu insisted that only CONUA could adequately represent its members’ interests, warning against any negotiation conducted “behind our backs”.
He further urged the government to ensure a fair distribution of allowances among all university unions.
