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The Federal Government of Nigeria through the Federal Ministry of Education has appealed to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to shelve strike action.
It also disclosed that the government has commenced the final phase of negotiations with ASUU and other tertiary education unions.
This was revealed in Abuja on Wednesday by the Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, during a press conference prior meeting of high-level committee on FGN/ASUU 2025 proposed agreement.
ASUU had last week Monday issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to meet its demands or it will embark on industrial action.
The Minister on Wednesday however was optimistic that the outstanding issues with the unions would soon be resolved to prevent further industrial action.
According to him, the group was finalising a counter-offer to be presented to the unions through the Allied General United Federal Government Tertiary Institutions Negotiations Committee.
The committee’s work, the Minister noted, aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s directive that all efforts must be made to keep Nigerian students in school and avoid disruptions to the academic calendar.
He said ”The President has made it clear that our children must remain in school. The technical working group is working to finalise a component of the condition of service that has to be proposed.
"They are working to finalise a counter-offer to them. Hopefully by the end of today, or latest tomorrow, the Allied General United Federal Government Tertiary Institutions Expected Negotiations Committee will receive that counter-offer to ASUU.” Dr. Alausa stated.
Stressing that about 80 per cent of the unions’ demands were similar across tertiary institutions, the Minister said that the remaining 20 per cent reflects sector-specific concerns.
According to him, the committee inaugurated earlier in the week had begun intensive deliberations to fast-track agreement and implementation timelines.
The President Tinubu administration, he pointed out, has made significant progress with the payment of the Earned Academic Allowance of ₦50 billion released by the government.
The Minister added ”In addition, N150 billion was included in the 2025 budget for needs assessment, and this will be released in three tranches, with the first N50 billion ready.
“They (lecturers) deserve to be paid so much and our academic and non-academic staff. But then, we can’t give you everything you want at the same time.
“But it’s the gesture, our benevolence, commitment to at least get substantial benefits and financial reward to you.
“This government is doing other things to improve your welfare. At this point, we’ve addressed several of the issues that we’ve brought up,” Dr. Alausa stated.
Stressing that promotion arrears and other outstanding allowances, including teaching and wage awards, have been addressed, the Minister said all the remaining areas would be cleared by 2026.
He harped on the government’s commitment to mutual respect and sustainable solutions.
The Minister appealed to academic and non-academic unions to exercise patience and avoid strike action and don't use it as a first resort.
He said “We have resolved a lot of these issues. But we know the final part is the condition of service. We will resolve that as well.
“So we are pleading with the unions, both academic and non-academic and tertiary institutions to be patient. This government is sincere and we are truthful.
“We have shown you this over the last 24 months plus, that the administration of President Bola Tinubu came on board. So please bear with us and be patient,” the Minister said.
Dr. Alausa also pointed out that for the first time the Solicitor General of the Federation and officials of the Ministry of Justice were directly involved in the present negotiation process.
This, according to him, will ensure legal soundness and enforce-ability of all agreements reached.