The House of Representatives Committee on University Education has issued a critical appeal to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's administration, urging immediate mass recruitment of lecturers and other university workers across Nigeria.
Addressing the Academic Staff Crisis
Committee chairman Hon. Abubakar Hassan Fulata sounded the alarm on Thursday, November 20, 2025, warning that the current university workforce is severely overstretched and incapable of meeting the growing demands of Nigeria's tertiary education system. The lawmaker revealed that the committee reached this decision following recent on-the-spot assessment visits to universities nationwide, which provided firsthand insight into the institutions' challenges.
Fulata specifically called on President Tinubu to authorize universities to begin massive recruitment exercises to salvage the deteriorating university system. "Many have departed, and the few available are overstretched," he stated, highlighting the severity of the staff shortage affecting Nigerian universities.
Poor Remuneration Driving Brain Drain
The mass exodus of academic staff from Nigerian universities is primarily driven by inadequate compensation packages, according to the committee's findings. Fulata emphasized that poor remuneration remains a fundamental cause of the academic brain drain and urged the federal government to urgently review and increase salaries and allowances across the education sector.
"I call on the government to increase the salary and allowances of university staff because poor remuneration is one of the reasons for the exodus of academics from these institutions," Fulata asserted during his statement.
Appeal to ASUU and Government Action
In a significant development, the committee chairman also appealed to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to suspend its planned industrial action and allow the government adequate time to address the pressing issues. Fulata cautioned that repeated strike actions would only worsen existing challenges and further destabilize the university system.
"I appeal to ASUU to give the government enough time to address these issues instead of frequent threats of strike action. Another strike will complicate the problems rather than solve them," the chairman warned.
This appeal comes as ASUU's Nsukka Zone recently accused the federal government of deliberately stalling the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement and endangering Nigeria's future. The union had rejected a proposed salary structure and warned that failure to conclude talks within one month could trigger a national crisis.
Meanwhile, President Tinubu has reportedly directed Education Minister Tunji Alausa to immediately end ASUU strikes in tertiary institutions across the country, signaling a potential shift in the government's negotiation strategy with academic unions.
