The Federal Government is set to inaugurate its fourth re-negotiation committee to address the ongoing demands of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). This development coincides with the expiration of the two-week ultimatum ASUU gave the government to meet its demands.
ASUU’s National President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, expressed frustration over the repeated negotiations since 2017. Previous committees, led by Wale Babalakin in 2017, Munzali Jubril in 2020, and Nimi Briggs in 2022, have failed to yield significant results. Osodeke stated, “We are meeting with the government tomorrow for the inauguration of a new re-negotiation committee, but this is the fourth committee in seven years.”
The union’s key demands include the release of revitalization funds for universities, earned allowances for lecturers, the implementation of the University Transparency Accountability System for salary payments, and the renegotiation of the ASUU-FGN 2009 agreement. Despite the formation of past committees, Osodeke lamented that agreements reached in 2022 have yet to be implemented.
“We are hopeful for real change this time around, but for the past seven years, little progress has been made,” Osodeke added.
ASUU had embarked on a nine-month strike in 2020, which led to the creation of the Nimi Briggs Committee. However, due to a lack of resources, the government discarded the recommendations made by the committee.
