The Federal Government has assured Nigerians that talks with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) are progressing steadily, with new steps being taken to resolve all lingering issues affecting the nation’s tertiary education system.
Speaking in Abuja, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, said the Federal Government remains committed to reaching a lasting agreement with ASUU and other tertiary institution unions through a unified and transparent negotiation process.
He revealed that the Yayale Ahmed-led Expanded Negotiation Committee will, in the coming days, receive ASUU’s counteroffer as part of efforts to finalise a new collective agreement.
“Tomorrow, the Yayale Ahmed Federal Government Tertiary Institution Expanded Negotiation Committee will receive that counteroffer from ASUU,” Dr. Alausa said. “I believe the committee has reached out to ASUU and other tertiary institution unions to start giving dates and times when they will meet.”
The minister further stated that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has issued a clear directive that “our children must remain in school,” stressing that the government will do everything possible to prevent future strikes.
According to him, “We should do everything humanly possible to avoid strikes. That’s what we’ve been working on behind the scenes. People at the highest level of government have been working intensely to get a robust but affordable response back to our trade unions.”
Dr. Alausa explained that most of the issues currently under discussion predate the Tinubu administration by over a decade, but assured that this government has the political will to fix them once and for all.
He disclosed that the new negotiation structure combines all tertiary institution unions — both academic and non-academic — under one expanded committee to ensure faster and more coordinated results.
Before now, he said, separate committees worked in silos for universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education — a method he described as inefficient.
The minister also noted that the government had already released ₦50 billion for Earned Academic Allowances and earmarked another ₦150 billion in the 2025 budget for the revitalisation of public tertiary institutions.
Promotion arrears and wage award issues, according to him, have also been addressed, while all outstanding allowances are expected to be fully cleared by 2026.
Dr. Alausa appealed to the unions to remain patient and not resort to strike actions while negotiations continue, assuring them of government’s sincerity.
“We’re sincere, truthful and genuinely interested in resolving these issues. Over the last 24 months, this government has shown good faith. We need to keep our children in school; that’s the President’s commitment,” he said.
He also revealed that, for the first time, the Minister of Justice and Solicitor-General are directly involved in the negotiations to ensure the final agreement is legally sound and enforceable.
“This is the first time ASUU and other unions are negotiating with the government where the Solicitor General and the Minister of Justice will sign off on every agreement. We’re doing this holistically and with full intent to resolve it once and for all,” Dr. Alausa added.
The article was originally published on Politics Nigeria.
