*Affirms President Tinubu’s commitment to keep students in school
*Unveils Yayale Ahmed-led expanded negotiation committee for final talks with ASUU
*Cites N200bn intervention to meet union demands
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has announced the constitution of an expanded negotiation committee to fast-track agreements with all unions in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions, to avert a looming strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and keep students in school.
He highlighted the Federal Government’s N200 billion intervention effort, which includes N50 billion already released for earned academic allowances and N150 billion provided in the 2025 budget for university revitalisation projects, as clear evidence of President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to addressing the long-standing issues in the sector.
Dr Alausa, disclosed this during a meeting of the Technical Working Group in Abuja on Wednesday, where he reaffirmed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive that Nigerian students must remain in school while all outstanding issues with university unions are resolved through dialogue.
“The directive President Bola Tinubu gave us is that our children must be in school. We should do everything humanly possible to avert a strike,” Dr Alausa said.
“At this point, we’ve addressed several of the issues raised by the unions. The earned academic allowance has been paid; the President released N50 billion months ago,” the minister said.
“Even the needs assessment that tertiary institutions have been fighting for for almost 15 years, the President put N150 billion in this 2025 budget.
“He promised that it will be released in three tranches of N50 billion each, and the first tranche is already waiting,” Alausa stated.
He added that the government’s actions demonstrate sincerity and readiness to meet its obligations, describing the intervention as part of a comprehensive effort to restore stability and mutual trust in the higher education system.
Dr Alausa also revealed that the Federal Government has collapsed all separate negotiation platforms into a single expanded negotiation committee, the Mahmud Yayale Ahmed Federal Government Tertiary Institution Expanded Negotiation Committee, to engage all tertiary institutions and their unions under one coordinated structure.
“In the past, we had three different committees negotiating in silos, one for universities, one for polytechnics, and one for colleges of education. That was not efficient.
“Now, we have one negotiation committee that will talk with all tertiary institutions and all unions, to have a full understanding of their needs,” Alausa said.
According to him, the Technical Working Group has been meeting to finalise the government’s counter-offer to ASUU, which would be transmitted to the expanded committee “by the end of today or tomorrow.”
The minister appealed to ASUU and other tertiary education unions to remain patient and maintain dialogue as the government addresses their long-standing concerns.
“Don’t use strike as your first resort. We know you’ve been patient, but these are issues that built up over decades.
“This President believes fervently and benevolently in education and has given us all the political will to resolve this problem once and for all,” the Minister said.
He emphasised that the government’s focus is on a holistic and affordable solution that recognises the sacrifices of lecturers and non-academic staff while ensuring fiscal responsibility.
“We’re not going to give everything at once, but our actions show benevolence and commitment to the welfare of academic and non-academic staff,” he noted.
He listed several areas of progress, including the resolution of promotion arrears, implementation of the 25–25 wage award, and payment of teaching and responsibility allowances.
“By next year, in 2026, all arrears will be paid,” Alausa assured, adding, “we have shown over the last 24 months since this administration took over that we are determined to resolve this crisis holistically.
”Present at the Abuja meeting were representatives from the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, the Budget Office, and the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, along with senior directors of the Ministry of Education.
“This technical working group is at the highest level of government. We are working continuously and expeditiously to finalise our responses, reach an agreement, and sign it with the unions,” Alausa said.
Reiterating the administration’s resolve, Dr Alausa said the N200 billion intervention demonstrates clear political will to reform and sustain tertiary education in Nigeria.
“Please, bear with us and be patient. We have a President giving us all the political will we need.
“We will resolve it once and for all. Let’s keep our children in school.
“This is a promise the President made to Nigerians, and it is a promise we intend to keep,” he said.
