The Federal Government has announced the formation of an Expanded Negotiation Committee to fast-track ongoing discussions with unions across Nigeria’s tertiary institutions — a move aimed at preventing a nationwide strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
This development comes shortly after ASUU leadership revealed that it has begun mobilising members nationwide in preparation for possible industrial action.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, disclosed the new measure on Wednesday, October 8, during a meeting of the Technical Working Group in Abuja, according to a statement cited by Legit.ng.
Alausa explained that the committee’s creation follows President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive that Nigerian students must remain in school while the government resolves all outstanding disputes through dialogue.
“The directive President Bola Tinubu gave us is that our children must be in school. We should do everything humanly possible to avert a strike,”
— Dr. Tunji Alausa, Minister of Education
The minister revealed that the Tinubu administration has committed ₦200 billion to revitalising Nigeria’s tertiary education system. This includes ₦50 billion already released for earned academic allowances and ₦150 billion earmarked in the 2025 budget for university revitalisation projects.
“The earned academic allowance has been paid; the President released ₦50 billion months ago.
Even the needs assessment that tertiary institutions have been fighting for for almost 15 years — the President put ₦150 billion in this 2025 budget,” Alausa noted.
He added that the ₦150 billion will be released in three tranches of ₦50 billion each, with the first tranche already available for disbursement.
In a major shift from the past, the Federal Government has merged all negotiation platforms into a single, coordinated structure known as the Mahmud Yayale Ahmed Federal Government Tertiary Institution Expanded Negotiation Committee.
“In the past, we had three different committees — one for universities, one for polytechnics, and one for colleges of education. That was not efficient,” Alausa explained.
“Now, we have one negotiation committee that will engage all tertiary institutions and unions collectively.”
According to the minister, the Technical Working Group is finalising the government’s counter-offer to ASUU, which is expected to be submitted to the new committee within 24 hours.
Alausa appealed to ASUU and other unions to exercise patience and prioritise dialogue over strike actions, assuring that the Tinubu administration is genuinely committed to resolving long-standing issues in the education sector.
“Don’t use strike as your first resort. We know you’ve been patient, but these are issues that built up over decades. This President believes fervently in education and has given us the political will to resolve this crisis once and for all,” he said.
The minister also highlighted progress achieved under the current administration, including the payment of promotion arrears, the implementation of the 25–25 wage award, and the settlement of teaching and responsibility allowances.
“By next year, in 2026, all arrears will be paid. We have shown over the last 24 months that this administration is determined to resolve this crisis holistically,” he assured.
Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that ASUU issued a 14-day strike ultimatum to the Federal Government following its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held on Sunday, September 28, at the University of Abuja (UNIABUJA).
The union said the decision was made in response to what it described as the government’s failure to implement previous agreements and unresolved issues affecting university staff welfare and funding.
