ASUU STRIKE: SENATE MOVES IN, MEETS MINISTER OF EDUCATION TUESDAY
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BY JENN NOMAMIUKOR
The Senate has taken action to address the persistent issue between the Federal government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and, as part of efforts to prevent the ongoing two-week warning strike.
The Senate Committees on Labor, Higher Education, and TETFUND are scheduled to convene with the Minister of Education, Mr. Tunji Alausa, and the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Abdullahi Yusuf Ribadu, on Tuesday of the upcoming week.
The planned meeting with the Federal Government and NUC will come after today’s meeting with the leadership of ASUU at the National Assembly.
Speaking with journalists on Friday in Abuja on resolutions adopted at the end of a closed-door session, the joint committee had with the leadership of ASUU, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND, Senator Muntari Dandutse, APC, Katsina South, said that the committees had heard from ASUU and were very ready to address its grievances to the appropriate quarters.
He said, “After meeting with the national leadership of ASUU on the way out of the current strike and the looming indefinite one, we have resolved to convene a very important meeting with relevant government agencies , particularly the Minister of Education and Executive Secretary of NUC on Tuesday or Wednesday next week.
” We also resolved to interface with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory ( FCT, Abuja ) , Barrister Nyesom Wike on the need to stop action on tampering with University of Abuja land.”
Prior to the private meeting, the National President of ASUU, Professor Christopher Piwuna, informed the committee members that enhanced financial support for the University from the federal government, as outlined in previous agreements between ASUU and the federal government, is the solution to the ongoing strike.
Sustainable investment in education, according to him, remains the only path to ending strikes and raising the global ranking of Nigerian universities, adding that the ongoing two-week warning strike stems from longstanding issues that date as far back as 2011.
He said, “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.”
Regarding funding postponements, Prof. Piwuna, who disclosed that although the National Assembly sanctioned N150 billion for universities, only N50 billion has been disbursed to date, indicated that the remaining sum is currently held at the Ministry of Education. The minister is purportedly planning to distribute it among universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, despite distinct allocations designated for those entities.
He cautioned that the N150 billion approved specifically for universities must be used for the intended purpose.
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