FG, ASUU Disagree Over Existence of 2009 Agreement as Negotiation Drama Deepens

The continuing deadlock between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Federal Government raged a new turn this week when the two sides traded blame on whether or not there was a binding contract.

Education Minister Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa told journalists that contrary to what has been widely thought, the government had never entered into any agreement with ASUU. He explained that what had always been referred to as the “2009 ASUU/FG Agreement” was a draft and not an enforceable agreement.

Dr. Alausa announced that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had directed his team to lay the matter to rest once and for all, assuring that the days of “bogus, unimplementable agreements” were over. He further announced that a seven-man technical committee, headed by the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Education and comprising chief officials in justice, labour, NUC, TETFund, and the Budget Office, had been established to fine-tune the government’s counter-proposal.

“Our concern is to ensure that every clause in this agreement is workable, doable, and constitutional. Nigerians can be rest assured that this government will not close down universities and students will stay in schools,” Alausa said.

The ASUU, however, has strongly opposed the minister’s claim as misleading. The union insisted that a document of work had been on the table since February 2025 after decades of negotiation starting from 2017.

Chairman of Plateau State University ASUU branch, Dr. Monday Hassan, told LEADERSHIP Friday that the minister’s assertion was “false,” stressing that the government cannot deny the fact of the draft agreement that has been the subject of numerous negotiations.

A second ASAU official, speaking off the record, condemned the line of the government, alleging:

“Something that was put on the table in February after eight years of consultations how do they now claim it does not exist? That document has been in the table for months.”

The union also stated that it was anticipating to be briefed by its national leadership on the government’s ongoing internal session meetings.

In the meantime, the split on the status of the 2009 agreement continues unabated, throwing Nigeria’s tertiary education sub-sector into fresh uncertainty.