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From Scholastica Hir, Makurdi
The Nsukka zone of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has accused the Federal Government of killing the country’s education sector by paying lip service and deploying delay tactics in addressing the renegotiation of the 2009 ASUU/FGN Agreements.
Nsukka Zone is made up of eight universities, including Benue State University Makurdi (BSU), now Fr Adasu University, Makurdi (FAUM), Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi (FUAM), Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), Federal University of Health Sciences, Otukpo (FUSHO), Kogi State University (KSU), Federal University Lokoja (FUL), Federal University Wukari (FUW), and University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN).
Addressing newsmen in Makurdi on Thursday, the zone, through its Zonal Coordinator, Comrade Christian Opata, accused the Federal Government of deliberately killing the future of the nation through its lip service to the education sector, especially tertiary education.
They said the slow pace and purposeful delays in concluding the renegotiation portend grave dangers for society.
Opata, in a speech titled “Do Not Widen The Trust Deficit”, told newsmen that after agreements were signed and timelines given, each time they think there is headway, the government would hide under the guise of officialdom to “brazenly and unashamedly jettison the agreements or implement aspects they deem fit halfway”.
He said the insincerity on the part of the Federal Government forced the union to embark on several protest rallies across the zones and branches in August 2025, targeted at averting strike actions.
Despite the actions, Opata said the Federal Government did not consider it necessary to act to prevent the strike. According to him, even though the offers from government were grossly insufficient, NEC concluded that the objective of the strike had been partly achieved and on 21 October 2025 reviewed the strike to allow for a conducive atmosphere for further engagements between them and the Federal Government.
“This was to demonstrate our respect for the massive show of goodwill and support by our students and their parents, the media, the Nigeria Labour Congress, and other well-meaning Nigerians who have mediated during the strike and continue to do so.
He said, “NEC also believed that a one-month window would be sufficient to conclude renegotiation if the gesture was reciprocated with good faith by the government.
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“ASUU is surprised that instead of taking advantage of the opportunity to quickly resolve all the issues in order not to keep the children out of school, during the just-concluded National Executive Council (NEC) meeting at Taraba State University, Jalingo, Taraba State, the government failed to prioritise education because it perceives education as a commercial good that must be self-sustaining instead of a social good that guarantees the sustainable development of the nation.”
He said ASUU rejected the proposed salary increment as a mere drop in the ocean that is not capable of achieving the desired reversal of the brain drain syndrome, which has bedevilled university education in the country for decades.
“We regret that government functionaries are undermining the negotiation process by the subtle misrepresentation of their offers and the implementation of agreements.
“The part payment of promotion arrears dating back to 2017, the release of third-party deductions, which are part of members’ unpaid benefits for years, at best translates to FG paying the debt they owe our members for work long done and should not be framed as the substantial issues of the negotiation process.
“The framing of the government’s implementation is not the true reflection of the reality, and this strategy signposts imminent danger to the renegotiation because it casts doubt on the fidelity of its proposals. The government’s objective must not be to win the narrative but to solve the problems.
“The remaining days to the expiry of the one-month window given to the government must be judiciously used to achieve a holistic resolution of the issues, particularly to uplift the living conditions of academics in Nigeria. This is not too much to ask. The surest way to protect the future of our country is to invest in education.”
The zone disagreed with the government on claims that it was faced with paucity of funds and economic downturn, saying it was the political will or lack of it, and not economic factors, that has been undermining the resolution of the renegotiation process.
The union once again called on all traditional rulers, leaders, students, NLC, and civil society to continue to urge the government to do the right thing and “give lecturers a living wage, as our take-home cannot take us home”.
“One month’s salary of a professor cannot get him a return ticket from Lagos to Abuja. The salary of senior lecturers cannot offset the cost of publication of their research findings in some journals. This is unacceptable.”
