According to the Consolidated University Academic Salary structure, Graduate Assistants receive a monthly salary ranging from N125,000 to N138,020, whereas professors have a monthly income between N525,010 and N633,333. Assistant Lecturers receive salaries ranging from N150,000 to N171,487.

Those holding the position of Lecturer II earn between N186,543 and N209,693, while Lecturer I positions are with salaries from N239,292 to N281,956. Senior Lecturers have a salary range of N386,101 to N480,780, and Readers earn between N436,392 and N522,212. Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, a past Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos, expressed concern over the decline in morale among members.

He said, “The lecturers are tired, the morale is low, and lecturers are poorly paid. Academic staff members are on the edge, itching to leave. The standard of teaching is going down. As Vice Chancellor, I earned N900,000 as salary. My present salary as a professor, still in the system, is N700,000. My son saw my pay slip and described it as a joke. Do you know that some lecturers sleep in the office?” ASUU President Piwuna highlighted that a significant number of lecturers receive salaries slightly above N400,000. He criticized the government for neglecting academia in favor of increasing salaries for politicians. He said, “Well, from experience, Nigerian elites or the political class always look after themselves. So, we’re not surprised that the arms of government that Nigerians are most dissatisfied with are the ones that are getting the pay rise, while those who work day and night to ensure that the country keeps moving, who are making tangible contributions to the growth of this country, are being neglected. “Our salaries have remained stagnant, and that has affected the quality of lecturers that we can attract into the universities. That has also affected our morale, and because our morale is low, certainly the output would also be affected. And so our salaries have been a major area of concern for our members. “Our salaries, our condition of service have always been a product of collective bargaining. And the last time this was done was in 2009. Talking about increases, for instance, this government has made an increase through the minimum wage, but all that was added to our salaries, and it’s for every public service, is N40,000. “So, professors that were earning a little over N400,000 have still not been able to get to the N500,000 mark that you’re talking about, except for professors that have had annual increases for maybe 10, 20 years.”