The Senate has moved to intervene in the ongoing dispute between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), as part of efforts to halt the union’s two-week warning strike and prevent a possible indefinite industrial action.
To this end, the Senate Committees on Labour, Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND are scheduled to meet next Tuesday with the Minister of Education, Mr. Tunji Alausa, and the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Abdullahi Yusuf Ribadu.
The crucial meeting with government representatives will follow today’s session between the committees and ASUU leadership at the National Assembly.
Briefing journalists in Abuja after the closed-door deliberation, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND, Senator Muntari Dandutse (APC, Katsina South), said the committees had listened to ASUU’s grievances and were prepared to channel them to the relevant authorities for prompt resolution.
“After meeting with ASUU’s national leadership on how to resolve the current strike and forestall an indefinite one, we have resolved to convene a vital meeting with key government agencies — particularly the Minister of Education and the Executive Secretary of NUC — next week Tuesday or Wednesday,” Dandutse stated.
He added that the committees also planned to interface with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Barrister Nyesom Wike, over concerns regarding alleged encroachment on the University of Abuja’s land.
Before the closed-door meeting, ASUU National President, Professor Christopher Piwuna, emphasized that the only sustainable solution to the recurring strikes is for the Federal Government to honour its past agreements with the union and prioritize university funding.
According to Piwuna, “We engaged the Federal Government for eight years without tangible results. The Yayale Ahmed committee report, submitted in December 2024, was ignored until this industrial action began.”
He revealed that although the National Assembly approved ₦150 billion for universities, only ₦50 billion has been released so far, alleging that the funds are still held by the Ministry of Education, where plans are being made to redistribute them among universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education — despite separate allocations for each.
Piwuna warned that the ₦150 billion approved specifically for universities must be used for its intended purpose, stressing that consistent investment in education is the only path to ending strikes and improving the global standing of Nigerian universities.
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