By Jemimah Wellington, JKNewsMedia Correspondent
ERA OF strikes in Nigerian tertiary institutions has been declared permanently over, with the Federal Government assuring that universities and polytechnics will remain open for all academic sessions.
JKNewsMedia.com reports that the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, gave the assurance during the presentation of awards to winners of the Student Venture Capital Grant (SVCG) initiative at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Innovation Hub in Ikoyi, Lagos, stating that longstanding disputes with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had been resolved under the FG ASUU 2025 agreement and that an agreement with the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) of Educational and Associated Institutions was close to finalisation.
On January 14, 2026, the FG and ASUU signed an agreement that includes a 40 percent salary increase for academic staff, improved pensions, and a commitment to better university funding.
Alausa described reports of imminent strike action as untrue and said he confirmed with the ASUU president that he was quoted out of context.
“We’ve solved this in totality. So, when you get news about looming strikes, treat it as fake. Let me use this medium to assure our parents. Our words are our bond. Your students will remain in school. Strikes have been cured in eternity.
“Our tertiary institutions will continue to remain open for all academic sessions. Please don’t worry about strikes. We’ve also resolved issues with the non-academic staff union, and that agreement will be signed in the coming weeks,” he said.
He added, “The academic staff are happy. This is an agreement that went into a quagmire for 20 years, and we have fixed it in totality. This is one government that believes in our youth.
“They are the heartbeat of this nation, and we have to keep them engaged in school. In the past three years, there has never been a strike, and I can tell you, there will never be a strike.”
On salary payments, the minister said the 40 percent increase had begun reaching academic staff by the end of January 2026.
“Even without the passage of the 2026 budget, almost 90 to 95 percent of our tertiary institutions, starting with universities, have started paying the increase without any problem. This was possible by reallocating some funds from the 2025 budget, with legislators promising to prioritise the 2026 appropriation bill immediately,” he said.
Addressing concerns about specific institutions, Alausa said calls to vice-chancellors, including the University of Lagos (UNILAG), confirmed that there were no strikes, adding that reports of industrial action were due to miscommunication at local union levels and had been clarified by the national ASUU president.
On NASU, JKNewsMedia.com reports that the Minister said the government had met with the union leadership and would finalise their agreement in the coming weeks.
“Please be patient with us. We have drafted that agreement, and it will be signed soon. Our commitment is to ensure all staff in tertiary institutions benefit and that students’ education continues uninterrupted,” he said.
Alausa said the President, Bola Tinubu, had been personally involved in resolving industrial disputes, stating, “Whenever he makes a promise, he thinks about how to bring it to fruition.
“When we came, the President said we have to stop the ASUU strikes, whatever it takes. We sat with Professor Yayale Ahmed and the Minister of State for Education and received clear directives from the President on what needed to be done.
“Whatever the academic and non-academic unions asked for, the President approved immediately. Anything to improve welfare, he said, ‘I will do it,’ and we have delivered successfully.”
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