The Lagos State Government has commenced the implementation of the Federal Government’s benchmarked agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) for workers in state-owned tertiary institutions.
The Lagos State Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Tolani Sule, disclosed this on Wednesday at the Alausa Secretariat during a meeting with the leadership of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) representing workers in the state’s tertiary institutions.
Sule said the state government remained committed to the welfare of staff and students, explaining that the temporary delay in implementing the agreement was due to its financial implications on the 2026 budget.
According to him, funds required for the implementation of the new salary structure will also be provided for in the 2027 budget.
He disclosed that relevant stakeholders and ministries of the state government had been mobilised for the implementation of the new salary structure, which would be paid in two tranches.
The Commissioner said the decision to adopt the Federal Government-ASUU benchmark was aimed at maintaining industrial harmony, improving workers’ welfare, addressing brain drain and strengthening teaching and research in the state-owned tertiary institutions.
He added that the measure would help improve the institutions’ rankings, attract highly qualified academics and make the institutions more attractive to prospective students.
Sule assured the JAC leadership that the state government would continue to operate an open-door policy and engage workers’ representatives to sustain industrial harmony across the state-owned tertiary institutions and the state generally.
Responding on behalf of JAC in the state-owned universities, the Chairman of ASUU-LASU, Professor Ibrahim Bakare, commended the state government for providing an avenue for dialogue and promoting industrial harmony and improved welfare for workers.
Bakare assured the government that members would continue to maintain industrial peace and remain committed to their duties, while justifying the government’s investment in their welfare through improved productivity in the tertiary education sector.
Other JAC leaders at the meeting also commended the administration of Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu for what they described as efforts to improve workers’ welfare and provide a conducive environment for teaching, learning and research in the state-owned tertiary institutions.
The state government said the tertiary institutions had maintained industrial harmony since the inception of the present administration, a development it linked to the institutions’ growing appeal to prospective students.