The Senate has intervened in the ongoing dispute between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) as part of efforts to end the current two-week warning strike.
The Senate Committees on Labour, Tertiary Institutions, and TETFUND are scheduled to meet with the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, and the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Abdullahi Yusuf Ribadu, on Tuesday next week.
This meeting with the Federal Government and NUC will follow the committee’s session with ASUU leadership, held today at the National Assembly.
Addressing journalists on Friday in Abuja after a closed-door session with ASUU representatives, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND, Senator Muntari Dandutse (APC, Katsina South), said the committees had listened to ASUU’s concerns and were ready to present them to the relevant authorities.
He stated, “After our meeting with ASUU’s national leadership on resolving the ongoing strike and preventing an indefinite one, we have agreed to convene a crucial meeting with key government agencies, especially the Minister of Education and the Executive Secretary of NUC, on Tuesday or Wednesday next week.
“We have also resolved to engage the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Barrister Nyesom Wike, on halting any encroachment on the University of Abuja’s land.”
Earlier, before the closed-door session, ASUU National President, Professor Christopher Piwuna, told the committee that increased university funding by the Federal Government, in line with previous agreements, remains the key to resolving the strike.
He emphasised that sustainable investment in education is the only lasting solution to frequent industrial actions and the decline in global rankings of Nigerian universities. According to him, the current two-week warning strike stems from unresolved issues dating back to 2011.
“We engaged the Federal Government for eight years without any tangible outcome. The Yayale Ahmed Committee report, submitted in December 2024, was ignored until this industrial action began,” he said.
Speaking on delayed funding, Professor Piwuna disclosed that although the National Assembly approved N150 billion for universities, only N50 billion has been released so far. He claimed the amount remains at the Ministry of Education, where the minister allegedly plans to distribute it among universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education despite separate budget allocations for each.
He warned that the N150 billion approved specifically for universities must be utilised for that purpose alone.
