In a bid to finally close the chapter on the lingering 2009 ASUU agreement,
a high-stakes meeting is expected in Abuja today as the federal
government is expected to make a counter offer to the university teachers
in a bid to translate years of stalled renegotiations into concrete,
implementable commitments with the Academic Staff Union of Universities,
ASUU.
Informed sources hinted that the Minister of Education, Maruf Tunji
Alausa, will join the Minister of Labour and representatives of the National
Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, NSIWC, and the Solicitor-
General to meet ASUU leaders in Abuja to examine how to finally
implement the renegotiated 2009 Federal Government, ASUU agreement
and related reports produced in the most recent round of negotiations.
According to officials, the meeting will be tasked with delivering a clear
timetable for signature and phased implementation.
The urgency of the move comes amid warnings from ASUU branches
nationwide that their patience is exhausted, after a renegotiation process
concluded in December 2024 and formally submitted to government in
February 2025.
Union leaders insist that the draft must now be signed and implemented to
avert another nationwide shutdown of public universities.
The 2009 agreement remains the touchstone of the dispute, signed under
the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, which promised comprehensive
reforms to Nigeria’s public universities, including sustained revitalization
funding, institutional autonomy, a negotiated salary and conditions package
for academics, and a monitoring framework for implementation.
