ABUJA, 16 October 2024 — The Federal Government has appointed Dr. Mahmud Yayale Ahmed, Pro-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, as the chairman of the 2009 Federal Government Re-negotiation Committee with university-based staff unions, including the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
The committee, which is the fourth to be formed in seven years, was inaugurated on Tuesday in Abuja. Other members include Olanrewaju Tejuoso, Prof. Nora Daduut, Amb. Greg Mbadiwe, Prof. Ignatius Onimao, Joshua Lidani, and Prof. Ayodeji Omole.
This new committee comes amid escalating tensions between the government and university staff unions, with both ASUU and the Joint Action Committee of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) issuing ultimatums for the payment of withheld salaries and other demands.
Key demands from ASUU include the release of revitalization funds for universities, earned allowances, the implementation of the University Transparency Accountability System for salary payments, and the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement. Meanwhile, SSANU and NASU are seeking the payment of four months’ withheld salaries and improved remuneration.
The establishment of this committee is seen as a critical step, as it marks the fourth renegotiation effort since 2017. Previous committees were led by Wale Babalakin, Munzali Jubril, and Nimi Briggs.
However, the inauguration has sparked concerns among SSANU and NASU. A statement from their leadership criticized the event for focusing predominantly on ASUU, with other unions being treated as secondary participants. They expressed that the proceedings suggested a bias toward ASUU, raising fears of unequal representation in the negotiation process.
The new committee is expected to meet with ASUU next week to address the issues at hand, while the dissatisfaction expressed by SSANU and NASU may complicate the negotiation landscape going forward.
