ASUU agreement dispute deepens as Minister denies any signed deal, while the union insists government is poor at keeping records

ASUU agreement dispute has once again taken center stage in Nigeria’s education sector after the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, declared that the government never signed binding agreements with the Academic Staff Union of Universities.

Also read: ASUU nationwide protests warn of strike over unmet demands

Speaking in Abuja on Thursday, Alausa insisted that documents frequently cited by ASUU were mere proposals, not executed agreements.

He maintained that President Bola Tinubu’s administration was committed to reaching a “clean and actionable agreement” that would be constitutional and sustainable.

“The 2021 agreement was not executed by the government,” Alausa said. “ASUU might have an impression that they have an agreement, but in truth, it was a draft. What we now want is a properly signed, implementable, and constitutional agreement.”

The minister outlined plans to establish a seven-member high-level technical team, chaired by the Permanent Secretary of Education, with representatives from the Ministries of Justice, Labour, the Salary and Wages Commission, the National Universities Commission, and the Budget Office.

The team is tasked with producing a counter-proposal to present to ASUU through the Yayale Ahmed Committee.

ASUU, however, swiftly rejected the minister’s claim. The union’s president, Prof. Chris Piwuna, argued that the denial only underscored government’s poor record-keeping and disregard for commitments made to university lecturers.

Earlier this year, the Tinubu administration released N50 billion to settle earned academic allowances, but ASUU has continued to demand clarity on salaries, working conditions, autonomy, and university funding. The union insists that without firm commitments, the cycle of disputes will persist.

The dispute highlights a familiar pattern of mistrust between ASUU and the federal government, raising concerns about the stability of Nigeria’s public university system.