FG, ASUU Set for Crucial Meeting to Finalize 16-Year-Old Agreement

In a critical move to prevent another university shutdown, the Federal Government is scheduled to meet with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) this week in Abuja.

The meeting aims to present a government counter-offer and finally translate years of stalled negotiations into a concrete, implementable agreement.

The Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, will lead the government’s team, which includes the Minister of Labour, representatives from the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC), and the Solicitor-General of the Federation.

Their objective is to review the renegotiated 2009 FGN-ASUU agreement and produce a clear timetable for its signing and phased implementation.

This urgency follows stern warnings from ASUU branches nationwide that their patience is exhausted.

The union has rejected previous government proposals, such as offering soft loans instead of direct financial commitments, and insists on the immediate adoption of the draft agreement submitted in February 2025.

The 2009 agreement, which promised comprehensive reforms including revitalization funding, better salaries, and institutional autonomy, has been a source of conflict for over a decade. Its partial implementation has led to repeated strikes, costing the education sector an estimated five years of academic time since 1999.

However, stakeholders note a different approach from the current administration. Minister Alausa has combined immediate actions—like the recent release of N50 billion to settle long-standing earned academic allowances—with long-term reforms like the Diaspora BRIDGE Initiative, which connects Nigerian professionals abroad with universities at home.

This week’s meeting will focus on reconciling various negotiation reports and mapping fiscal commitments into the national budget. While significant obstacles remain, including ASUU’s rejection of loan schemes and broader fiscal pressures, Alausa’s focus on clearing historic debts and building accountable systems has shifted the conversation from promises to deliverables.

The outcome will be a major test for President Tinubu’s administration and its commitment to breaking the cycle of strikes that has plagued Nigeria’s public universities for decades.

About The Author

Dele Fashomi

Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.

Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.

Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).

He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.

He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.

Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled:  Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.

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