Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
Barely 24 hours after denying that the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) signed any binding agreement, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, has finally admitted that there was actually a signed deal between the duo in 2009.
This was contained in a statement issued Friday by the Director of Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Education, Boriowo Folasade.
The Minister, in the statement, clarified that “the 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement remains the only valid and binding document to date.”
Recall that the Minister, while addressing reporters in Abuja after a meeting with ASUU, had dismissed ASUU’s position as being based on a mere draft, insisting no agreement had ever been signed between the union and the Government.
ASUU had since accused the Minister of being economical with the truth, and threatened to down tools.
Meanwhile, the latest statement explained that efforts to review the agreement began in 2017, when the then Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, inaugurated a renegotiation committee.
It said that “that process produced the draft Nimi Briggs Agreement in May 2021,” but emphasized that it was never formally executed.
The statement titled: “Clarification on Minister’s Statement Regarding FGN-ASUU Agreements,” read: “When the Honourable Minister stated that there had been ‘no new signed agreement’ with ASUU, he was referring specifically to the 2021 draft Nimi Briggs document, which has not been formally executed. The Ministry therefore reaffirms that the 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement remains the last formally signed agreement. The 2021 draft serves only as the latest framework for discussions.”
The Ministry further assured that government remains committed to resolving the 16-year-old impasse with ASUU through sustainable and constitutionally backed measures, in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
The statement urged the public and stakeholders to disregard any misinterpretations of the Minister’s earlier remarks, stressing that keeping universities open for teaching and research remains the administration’s priority.
ASUU had, since Tuesday, staged peaceful protests at its various chapters nationwide, threatening to completely shut down the university system over government’s insensitivity to the plight of its members.
According to the union, lecturers’ salaries have been stagnated for 16 years, a sad development that has made them unable to cope with the economic realities.
The union said it was unthinkable for government to be proposing an upward review of emoluments for political office holders, who already have jumbo allowances, while leaving university lecturers on the same salary scale for close to two decades.
