To prevent the impending strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the Federal Government has formed a seven-member renegotiation committee to revisit the 2009 agreements with university-based unions.
At the committee’s inauguration in Abuja on Monday, Minister of Education Prof. Tahir Mamman set a three-month deadline for the negotiations to be completed.
According to NAN, the committee includes representatives from ASUU and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU).
Also included are representatives from the Non-Academic Staff of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT).
Mamman emphasized that President Bola Tinubu’s administration aims to enhance the education system and ensure peace on university campuses.
He stated that the renegotiations started in 2017 but were postponed due to unforeseen circumstances.
He added that the previous committee, chaired by Prof. Nimi Briggs, generated a draft report addressing important areas.
He stated that the earlier committee, led by Prof. Nimi Briggs, created a draft report that addressed important issues.
The minister encouraged the newly formed committee to work hard and develop realistic agreements that tackle the challenges facing the Nigerian University System (NUS).
Committee Chairman Dr. Yayale Ahmed urged the government to assist universities in becoming globally competitive and to view lecturers’ salaries as investments.
ASUU President Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke expressed gratitude to the government and voiced optimism that the new committee would achieve what previous ones could not.
He highlighted the unions’ willingness to renegotiate, as long as the government aimed for a stable academic calendar.
