Education Minister Makes U-Turn, Acknowledges Federal Government–ASUU 2009 Agreement

The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, has retracted his earlier declaration that there was no legally binding agreement between the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). In a new statement issued on Friday, the minister clarified that a formal pact was indeed signed in 2009, confirming the validity of the FGN-ASUU 2009 Agreement.

Alausa’s retraction came less than 24 hours after he initially dismissed ASUU’s position as being rooted in what he described as “just a draft.” His earlier statement claimed that no formal agreement had ever been endorsed by the government, a position the union immediately challenged.

The Ministry of Education has now acknowledged that the 2009 agreement remains the last and only binding document officially signed between the government and ASUU.

Background of the FGN-ASUU Agreement

According to the ministry, steps to revisit and update the 2009 agreement commenced in 2017, when the then Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, set up a renegotiation committee. That effort eventually led to the draft Nimi Briggs Agreement in May 2021. However, the Federal Government insists that this draft was never formally approved or executed.

“When the Honourable Minister stated that there had been ‘no new signed agreement’ with ASUU, he was specifically referring to the 2021 draft Nimi Briggs document, which has not been legally executed,” the statement explained.

Government’s Current Position

The ministry reiterated that:

• The 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement remains the only legally binding and recognized pact to date.
• The 2021 draft Nimi Briggs Agreement only serves as a working framework for further discussions but does not have the force of law.
• The government is still committed to resolving the 16-year-old dispute with ASUU through dialogue and sustainable measures that align with the constitution and the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The statement also called on Nigerians, students, and education stakeholders to ignore misinterpretations of the minister’s earlier remarks, reaffirming that keeping universities open for academic research, teaching, and learning remains the utmost priority of the Tinubu-led administration.