President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, to take every necessary step to ensure that Nigeria’s public universities remain open and that students continue their academic activities without disruption.
Dr. Alausa disclosed this to journalists on Wednesday after a closed-door meeting with the President at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja.
According to him, President Tinubu made it clear that he would not tolerate another industrial strike in the university system and has instructed the Education Ministry to engage meaningfully with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to resolve all lingering issues.
President Wants End to Disruptions in Tertiary Education
“The President has mandated us that he doesn’t want ASUU to go on strike, and we’re doing everything humanly possible to ensure that our students stay in school,” Alausa said.
He added that the government has already met “literally all” of ASUU’s demands, and is working to extract additional approvals and concessions from President Tinubu to finally close all outstanding matters.
Alausa described the recent six-day warning strike by ASUU as unnecessary, insisting that the administration has shown commitment to addressing the union’s grievances.
“The last strike they went on for about six days was not really needed. We’ve met literally all their requirements. Now we’ve gone back to the negotiation table. Part of my visit here today is to explain where we are with the ASUU strike to Mr. President and to extract more concessions from him,” he said.
Negotiations Consolidated Under One Committee
The Minister revealed that the government has streamlined the negotiation process by forming a single high-level committee to engage all tertiary education unions collectively — including ASUU, the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), and the Colleges of Education Staff Union (COEASU).
The committee, chaired by former Head of Service Yayale Ahmed, replaces the previous fragmented approach where each union had its own negotiation team.
“What we’ve done now is to expand one single committee. They’re dealing with both academic and non-academic unions. Everything is calm, and they understand this is a listening government,” Alausa explained.
‘No Ultimatum’ from Labour Unions — Alausa
Reacting to reports that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and tertiary unions had issued a four-week ultimatum on October 20, 2025, for the government to resolve the education sector impasse, the Minister dismissed the claim.
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He maintained that there was no active ultimatum, emphasizing that communication lines between the Ministry and union leaders remain open.
“With all due respect, there is no ultimatum. I still spoke to the President of ASUP on Monday. I’m on first line call to them. Everything is calm, and they all understand this is a listening government. We will resolve all their problems, or at least a significant part of them,” Alausa assured.
The Education Minister reiterated that the Tinubu administration remains committed to ensuring uninterrupted academic sessions and restoring lasting stability to Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.
