Sh*ck Twist: Education Minister Finally Confirms FG-ASUU 2009 Deal After Years Of Denial

Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, has backtracked on his earlier claim that no binding agreement existed between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

In a fresh statement issued on Friday, Alausa admitted that the 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement was indeed a formally signed and binding document — the only one still in effect to date.

This U-turn comes less than 24 hours after the minister dismissed ASUU’s position as being based on nothing more than a draft, a claim the union swiftly refuted.

The ministry clarified that while the 2009 agreement remains the last valid pact, efforts to renegotiate it began in 2017 under former Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu. Those talks produced the draft Nimi Briggs Agreement in May 2021, but the document was never formally signed.

Explaining the controversy, the statement noted:

“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 formally executed. The Ministry therefore reaffirms that the 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement remains the last signed agreement, while the 2021 draft serves only as a framework for further discussions.”

The ministry further assured that the Federal Government is committed to resolving the lingering 16-year-old impasse with ASUU through constitutionally backed and sustainable measures, in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

It also urged the public and stakeholders to disregard any misinterpretation of the minister’s earlier remarks, stressing that keeping universities open for teaching and research remains a top priority.