An estimated 5,000 professors and senior academics from more than 130 tertiary institutions across Nigeria are expected to converge on Eagle Square, Abuja, in November to declare support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The planned endorsement is being organised by the Progressives in Academics (Pro-Acad), led by its convener, Professor Bolarinwa Bolaji.
The group said the gathering would provide a platform for academics to express support for what it described as the reforms, continuity and national development agenda of the Tinubu administration.
Speaking at a pre-declaration briefing in Abuja, Bolaji said the academic community had witnessed steady progress under the current administration, particularly in the areas of staff welfare, institutional autonomy and education funding.
He claimed that salaries and welfare packages of academic staff had recorded more than 100 per cent growth compared with previous levels, describing the development as a boost to the morale and productivity of university workers.
Bolaji also listed the removal of tertiary institutions from the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), settlement of outstanding earned allowances, the operationalisation of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and increased funding for the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) among the administration’s interventions in the education sector.
He said the measures had strengthened confidence among academics and demonstrated the government’s commitment to restoring autonomy and dignity to institutions of higher learning.
“President Tinubu has returned autonomy and respect to the Ivory Tower. This is why progressive academics have resolved to speak with one voice,” he said.
Bolaji added that the planned gathering would be used to present a document titled: “Academic Declaration for Continuity and Renewed Hope 2027″.
According to him, the document will contain the group’s assessment of the Tinubu administration, highlight what it considers its major achievements in the education sector and state its position on the continuation of the Renewed Hope Agenda beyond 2027.
He said mobilisation was ongoing across universities, polytechnics and colleges of education to secure participation in the November event.
The convener described the proposed convergence as a major political mobilisation by members of the academic community, although the claim that it would be the largest gathering of academics for a political cause in Nigeria’s democratic history has not been independently established.
“The Eagle Square Declaration is our political contribution to ensure that the Renewed Hope Agenda is not truncated, but consolidated beyond 2027,” he said.
The proposed endorsement is coming ahead of the 2027 presidential election, in which Tinubu is seeking a second term in office.
