•Nigerian Senate
The Senate committee has expressed deep concern over the federal government’s failure to honour its agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), describing the situation as unacceptable.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Tertiary institutions and TETFund, Senator Aliyu Dandutse, made the disclosure after a closed-door session with the leadership of ASUU.
This followed the ongoing two-week warning strike resulting from longstanding issues that dated as far back as 201, reports Channels TV.
He further noted that the Senate would immediately initiate a negotiation process involving key stakeholders, including ASUU, the Ministry of Education, and the National Universities Commission, to chart a path toward a permanent resolution of the crisis.
To address the controversial issue surrounding the University of Abuja land, Sen.Dandutse confirmed that the Senate would also engage with the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, to find an amicable solution.
“The Senate will interface with the FCT Minister on the land matter, and other concerns raised will be carefully studied. Appropriate steps will be taken to ensure an amicable and lasting resolution”.
The committee further urged ASUU to formally submit a comprehensive list of their demands in writing, to allow the Senate to assess both immediate and long-term legislative and policy measures needed to address the challenges plaguing the sector.
The ASUU President, Chris Piwuna, who spoke on behalf of the union, stated that the ongoing two-week warning strike resulted from longstanding issues that dated as far back as 2011.
“We engaged the federal government for eight years without tangible results.
“The Yayale Ahmed Committee report, submitted in December 2024, was ignored until this industrial action began,” Professor Piwuna said.
According to him, the key demands of ASUU, including sustainable funding, improved conditions of service, revitalisation of public universities, and academic autonomy, remain unchanged.
The union also challenged the Senate committee to push the government to increase funding.
“Try us. Push government to fund universities adequately and you’ll see the end of strikes and the improvement of our universities in global rankings,” the ASUU president told the senators.
On funding delays, Piwuna revealed that although the National Assembly approved ₦150 billion for universities, only ₦50 billion had been released so far.
