The Federal Government plans to provide an extra ₦30 billion over the next three years to help fix and support the 74 federal universities in Nigeria.
This money is separate from the normal yearly budget given to the universities. The government also plans to increase funding for education to 15 per cent of the national budget, in line with UNESCO’s recommendation.
These plans are part of an agreement between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). The fund, called the Stabilisation and Restoration Fund, will be paid in three parts of ₦10 billion each year from 2026 to 2028. The National Universities Commission (NUC) will manage the fund.
Experts say that if the money is properly managed, it could help repair damaged school buildings, improve learning facilities, and boost research in federal universities. However, they warned that steady funding, transparency, and proper monitoring are needed to ensure the money brings real improvement and not just short-term relief.
The agreement also recommends that the government increase education funding by 2.5 per cent every year until it reaches 15 per cent. It also suggests that 50 per cent of the education capital budget should go to universities and that undergraduate tuition should remain free.
Despite UNESCO’s advice that countries should spend between 15 and 20 per cent of their budget on education, Nigeria has not met this target for many years. Government spending on education has ranged from as low as 1.69 per cent in 2011 to a high of 13 per cent in 2008.
For the 2026 budget, the government set aside ₦3.52 trillion for education out of a total ₦58.47 trillion budget. However, Omole Ibukun of the Creative Change Centre said this amount is not enough. He noted that it makes up only 6.02 per cent of the total budget and cannot solve the long-standing problems in the education sector.
Meanwhile, the Congress of University Academics (CONUA) said it is not part of the agreement and urged the government to continue discussions with all university unions.
CONUA confirmed that talks are ongoing with other unions as part of efforts to improve working conditions, stability, and the quality of education in Nigerian universities.
Speaking to The Guardian, CONUA President, Dr. ‘Niyi Sunmonu, said the union would remain independent and would not merge with any other academic union. He stressed that CONUA is legally recognised and registered by the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, as well as supported by international labour laws.
Sunmonu also said the recent agreement between the government and ASUU is part of the unfinished 2009 agreement that had been unresolved for many years.
