A fresh dispute has erupted between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) over the status of a 2021 agreement, with both sides trading accusations on Thursday.
Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, told journalists in Abuja that no valid agreement was ever signed with ASUU, insisting that the 2021 documents often cited by the union were only draft proposals tabled during negotiations. He added that President Bola Tinubu’s administration was, however, committed to resolving all lingering issues in a sustainable and constitutional manner.
“The government has never signed any agreement with ASUU. What existed was a draft proposal. We now want a clean, actionable agreement, prepared within the constitutional framework, and that is what the president has mandated us to deliver,” Alausa stated. He explained that a high-level technical committee—including representatives from the Ministries of Justice, Labour, Education, and other agencies—had been set up to harmonize a counter-proposal to present to the union.
Despite this, ASUU dismissed the minister’s claims. Its president, Prof. Chris Piwuna, faulted the government for what he described as poor record-keeping and failure to ensure proper handover of documents across administrations. “The government is very poor at keeping records. Sometimes, you wonder if there is even a proper handover from one officer to another,” he said.
ASUU has long pressed for improved salaries, better working conditions, increased university funding, autonomy, and a review of laws governing the National Universities Commission (NUC) and Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB). Earlier this year, the Tinubu government released ₦50bn to settle outstanding earned academic allowances, but the union maintains that concrete, long-term commitments are still lacking.
The standoff over the 2021 agreement threatens to reopen old wounds between the government and the union, which has staged several nationwide strikes in the past over unmet demands.
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