The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, has backtracked on his earlier assertion that no formal pact exists between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
He has now acknowledged that the 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement remains the only legally binding document.
In a statement released on Friday, Alausa clarified that his earlier comments were misunderstood.
While speaking with journalists in Abuja on Thursday, the minister had dismissed ASUU’s reliance on the 2009 and 2011 agreements, describing them as unsigned drafts. The union, however, swiftly faulted his position.
According to him, the two documents often cited by ASUU “were never signed, but only proposals presented during negotiations.”
The education minister emphasized that President Bola Tinubu’s administration is determined to resolve lingering disputes with the lecturers’ union.
But in a follow-up release issued by the ministry’s Director of Press and Public Relations, Boriowo Folasade, the government clarified that the 2009 deal remains the last formally endorsed agreement.
The ministry explained that a renegotiation process was launched in 2017 under then Education Minister, Mallam Adamu Adamu, leading to the draft Nimi Briggs Agreement in 2021. However, the document, it stressed, “was never formally executed.”
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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.”
It further added: “The Federal Government remains committed to ending the 16-year stalemate with ASUU in a sustainable and constitutionally backed manner, ensuring our universities remain open for teaching and research.”
The ministry also appealed to the public to disregard misinterpretations of Alausa’s earlier comments, stressing that safeguarding uninterrupted academic activities in Nigerian universities remains a top government priority.
