jasdooit

The central government has initiated the last stage of discussions with the Academic Staff Union of Universities and other higher education unions to prevent new strikes.

The Education Minister, Dr. Tunji Alausa, revealed this on Wednesday in Abuja during a session of the Technical Working Group addressing the working conditions of university instructors.

Alausa showed confidence that the outstanding matters with the unions would soon be settled, mentioning that the group was in the process of preparing a counterproposal to submit to the unions via the Allied General United Federal Government Tertiary Institutions Negotiations Committee.

He stated that the action is in line with President Bola Tinubu’s instruction that all required measures should be implemented to ensure Nigerian students remain in school and avoid additional interruptions in the academic schedule.

The President has clearly stated that our children should continue attending school,” Alausa mentioned. “The technical working group is in the process of finalizing a part of the service conditions to be submitted to the unions. It is hoped that by the end of today or at the latest tomorrow, the Allied General United Federal Government Tertiary Institutions Negotiations Committee will receive this counterproposal from ASUU.

The official stated that roughly 80 percent of the unions’ requests were consistent among all higher education institutions, whereas the other 20 percent addressed issues unique to particular sectors.

He mentioned that the committee, launched earlier in the week, had started thorough discussions to accelerate the agreement and implementation schedules.

Alausa highlighted that the Tinubu government had already achieved notable progress by releasing N50bn for the payment of Earned Academic Allowances, with an additional N150bn allocated in the 2025 budget for a needs assessment, to be distributed in three installments.

They (lecturers) should be fairly compensated, and both our academic and non-academic staff deserve better living conditions,” he stated. “However, we cannot provide everything all at once. The key is our genuine dedication and effort towards making meaningful improvements in their circumstances.

He mentioned that back payments and other unpaid benefits, such as teaching and salary awards, had been resolved, with the remaining responsibilities expected to be settled by 2026.

Reaffirming the government’s dedication to achieving lasting peace within the education field, Alausa urged the unions to show restraint and opt for discussion rather than turning to strikes.

We have addressed many of these problems, and we are now at the final phase — the service condition,” he said. “This government is genuine and has shown that over the past two years. Please be patient with us.

Alausa also mentioned that, for the first time, the Solicitor-General of the Federation and representatives from the Ministry of Justice were directly engaged in the negotiation process to guarantee the legal validity and enforceability of the agreements.

Meanwhile, ASUU, in a strike notice sent to its members on Monday, instructed branches to get ready for a two-week warning strike set to begin on October 13.

The scheduled strike comes after a two-week warning from the union earlier this week regarding what it called the government’s ongoing inability to resolve unresolved matters, such as the signing and execution of the revised 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement.

In a recent communication to its branches, ASUU National President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, expressed concern that the government had not provided any substantial reply to the union’s requests even after the deadline.

Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).