The level of job performance, international comparability and competitiveness of Nigerian university graduates are burning issues. Consequently, the academic quality of Nigerian universities has come under severe criticism. Since university lecturers are key players in quality assurance in universities, this study explored their perceptions of variables important to quality assurance in Nigerian universities. Five hundred lecturers from public universities in the South-South geopolitical zone responded to a 25-item survey. Five research questions were framed and descriptive statistics were used in analysing and presenting the data. The result showed that lecturers perceived availability of adequate number of qualified staff, students' attitude to study, early publication of students' examination results, availability of well-equipped laboratories and workshops, and funding of tertiary education as the most important variables in academic quality assurance.