Lawrence Olaoye 
President Bola Tinubu has directed the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, to intensify negotiations with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and ensure that university lecturers do not embark on another strike.
Speaking to journalists after meeting with the President at the Presidential Villa on Tuesday, Alausa said the administration is committed to transparency and accountability in the education sector as part of efforts to restore Nigeria’s universities to their former global standing of three to four decades ago.
Responding to questions about government measures to avert a fresh strike following ASUU’s recent six-day warning action, the minister said:
“As I told you, the President has mandated us that he doesn’t want ASUU to go on strike, and we’re doing everything humanly possible to ensure that our students stay in school. The last strike they went on for about six days was not really needed. We’re talking to them. We’ve met literally all their requirements.”
He added that discussions with ASUU leadership are ongoing, noting that part of his visit to the Villa was to brief the President on the progress of the negotiations and seek further concessions.
“We’re taking advantage of Mr. President’s love for education and human capital development — which includes health, education, and social protection,” he said.
On government efforts to reposition universities, Alausa unveiled the Federal Tertiary Institution Governance and Transparency Dashboard, which he said would enhance accountability and data-driven oversight across all tertiary institutions.
“We have mandated all public universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education to report data on student enrollment, budgetary allocations, personnel costs, capital and recurrent budgets, and interventions from NELFund and endowments,” the minister explained.
He emphasized that the information will now be publicly accessible through the Ministry’s website to improve transparency and governance.
“We’re doing this to bring our tertiary institutions, especially universities back to the global standards of 30 or 40 years ago, when Nigerian universities ranked among the world’s top 100,” Alausa added.
