The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has said the federal government is committed to ending industrial actions in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions, including strikes by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
Speaking during an interview on Politics Today, a programme on Channels Television, on Tuesday, Alausa disclosed that President Bola Tinubu has given a clear directive to his cabinet to prevent future strikes in the education sector through proactive engagement.
He said the government intends to achieve this by fostering strong relationships with union leaders, maintaining open dialogue, and addressing their legitimate demands.
Acknowledging delays in the payment of salaries to academic and non-academic staff, the minister apologised to the affected unions and assured them that the issue is being resolved.
According to him, the Ministry of Education is working closely with the Ministry of Finance to ensure prompt salary disbursements. He explained that the delays were due to the complexities of processing payments through the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) before moving to those on the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS).
However, Alausa expressed confidence that the government would soon harmonise the systems to ensure uniform and timely salary payments across all tertiary institutions.
Speaking further, the minister highlighted the recently launched Diaspora Bridge initiative, designed to strengthen collaboration between Nigerian professionals abroad and local institutions.
He noted that 150 institutions across the country had already registered for the programme, which aims to link diaspora expertise with Nigerian universities and research centres through a hybrid model involving both virtual and physical engagement.
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