The Federal Government has reconstituted a committee to renegotiate the 2009 agreements with university-based unions.
The unions include Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NAAT), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU).
This move follows the recent ultimatum issued by ASUU. It is the fourth renegotiation committee set up by the government since 2017.
The Committee, chaired by former Head of Service of the Federation, Yayale Ahmed, has been tasked with reviewing draft proposed agreements with the university-based unions.
Education Minister, Tahir Mamman emphasized the Committee’s importance, stating that its members are “exceptionally experienced in both university and other matters.”
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Mamman appealed to the Committee to “double its effort towards concluding the assignment and producing a realistic and workable agreement” that addresses the challenges facing the Nigerian University System.
“Therefore, I wish to especially appeal to this reconstituted Committee to double its effort towards concluding the assignment and producing a realistic and workable Agreement that would holistically tackle the challenges confronting the NUS and reposition it to effectively play its very important role in national development,” he added.
The Committee’s terms of reference include liaising with relevant stakeholders, renegotiating the 2009 agreement, negotiating and recommending issues to reposition the NUS for global competitiveness and submitting proposed draft agreements within three months.
Previous committees, led by Wale Babalakin (2017), Munzali Jubril (2020) and Nimi Briggs (2022), have made significant progress, with some recommendations already being implemented to maintain industrial and academic peace in universities.
