ASUU UniCal Chapter Demands FG Implement Briggs Committee Agreement, Rejects 35% Salary Offer

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Calabar chapter, has called on the Federal Government to implement the recommendations of the Prof. Nimi Briggs-led committee, describing the government’s 35 per cent salary offer as inadequate.

Dr Peter Ubi, Chairman of ASUU at UniCal, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday that the union remains committed to the 2021 Briggs committee agreement, which was intended to renegotiate the 2009 Federal Government–ASUU Agreement.

“After ASUU suspended its strike and issued a one-month ultimatum, the government failed to implement any tangible commitment,” Ubi said. “We initially demanded African average salaries for professors but shifted to the West African average after the government objected. Both proposals were rejected, leaving us with the Briggs committee’s recommendations, which we accepted in good faith. Our surprise now is that the government has refused to sign the outcome of the committee it initiated.”

The ASUU chairman stressed that the union rejected the government’s 35 per cent salary increase because it significantly deviates from the committee’s recommendations, which he said were more equitable and sustainable.

Education Minister Tunji Alausa recently noted that the 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement remains the last formally signed pact, while the 2021 Briggs committee draft has yet to be signed but serves as the current framework for negotiations.

ASUU’s demand signals a renewed push for the federal government to resolve lingering disputes over university funding and academic staff welfare, as tensions continue to simmer across Nigeria’s higher education sector.