The Federal Government on Thursday denied signing any agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), insisting that the much-referenced renegotiated document with the union remained a draft.
Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, who spoke with journalists in Abuja, explained that a seven-man committee headed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Abel Enitan, had been set up to present the government’s counter-proposal to ASUU.
According to him, the draft document under contention never received government’s formal endorsement.
“Let me clear this: the Solicitor-General looked into the agreement and confirmed that government has never signed any agreement with ASUU. This was a draft. The 2021 agreement was not executed by government,” Alausa said.
“ASUU may have the impression that they have an agreement with us, but truthfully, no such agreement was signed.”
He added that once the government finalises its position, the counter-proposal would be forwarded to the Alhaji Yayale Ahmed-led committee for transmission to ASUU.
Analysts say the clarification could heighten tensions and increase the risk of industrial action if consensus is not reached swiftly. Others, however, view the fresh committee and counter-proposal as a genuine opportunity to resolve the long-standing dispute.
Meanwhile, ASUU has explained its decision to stay away from a meeting convened by the Ministry of Education, which was scheduled for August 28 and advertised as involving the Union.
In an exclusive interview with The Guardian, ASUU President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, said the Union was not formally invited and therefore had no business attending.
“We are not part of the meeting because it is their meeting, not ours. When we hold our meetings, we don’t invite government. They didn’t send us an invitation, and we don’t even know the agenda — though we suspect it concerns our issues,” he said.
The latest back-and-forth underscores the fragile state of negotiations over the lingering 2009 agreement, with stakeholders warning that the impasse could again disrupt academic activities if not urgently addressed.
