The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has criticized the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, following his claims that the Federal Government never signed any binding agreements with the union. The minister, while speaking to journalists in Abuja on Thursday, insisted that the documents often cited by ASUU were merely proposals tabled during negotiations, not officially signed accords.
Dr. Alausa maintained that successive governments only engaged in discussions with ASUU without finalizing any binding agreements. According to him, the so-called agreements were in fact drafts and recommendations that required further deliberation, and therefore could not be considered as enforceable commitments by the government.
ASUU, however, rejected this position, describing the minister’s remarks as a distortion of facts and an attempt to downplay the struggles of Nigerian academics. The union emphasized that over the years, several Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) and Memoranda of Action (MoAs) were signed with the government, which clearly outlined commitments on university funding, welfare, and revitalization of the education sector.
Union leaders further argued that the government’s persistent denial and failure to honour its own commitments had been at the root of recurring industrial actions in the country’s universities. They noted that such public statements from top officials risked undermining trust and worsening the already strained relationship between the government and university lecturers.
ASUU called on the government to stop playing politics with the nation’s education sector and to take genuine steps towards implementing the agreements reached over the years. The union stressed that only sincerity and accountability from the authorities could guarantee lasting peace in the university system and end the cycle of strikes that have repeatedly disrupted academic calendars.
