Lucky Obukohwo, Reporting
The Benin Zone of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has opposed moves to scrap some academic programmes in Nigerian universities, warning that such action could endanger and further weaken the nation’s higher education sector.
The chairman of the Benin zone of ASUU, Prof. Monday Igbafen expressed the union’s resentment while addressing journalists on the 2025 FGN/ASUU Agreement at the secretariat in Benin.
He said the attempts to scrap courses deemed “irrelevant” undermines university’s autonomy and academic freedom and would be opposed.
According to him “the government unilaterally announced plans to scrap courses deemed”irrelevant”, a move that undermines university’s autonomy and academic freedom and it would be rejected”
Recall that the minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa has argued that some programmes, especially in parts of the social sciences and humanities were producing graduates with limited employment opportunities, while Nigeria needs more graduates in technology, science, vocational training, AI, agriculture, engineering and entrepreneurship.
Speaking on the running battle of ASUU with the federal government, Prof. Igbafen said that the union recalled that the 2025 FGN/ASUU Agreement was formally unveiled on 14th January, 2026 by the Nigerian state adding that, the unveiling marked what they believed would be the end of years of struggle to renegotiate the 2009 Agreement and secure lasting industrial harmony in the public universities.
Igbafen said solemn promises were made and speedy implementation was expected after the meeting but regrettably, Nigerian state has reneged on the promises made.
He listed 10 sins of the federal government against the union as follows: failure to inaugurate the Implementation Monitoring Committee, unresolved financial obligations, policy inconsistencies in education, unilateral transitional education plans, compulsory enrollment in NERD, threat to scrap academic programmes.
Others are mismanagement in universities, land grabbing in Niger State, distorted implementation of allowances and the state governors refusal to comply with the 2025 FGN/ASUU Agreement nearly five months after the federal government directed full implementations, noting that many state governors who served as Visitors to state universities have refused to act.
He described their actions as hypocritical because their representatives actively participated in negotiating the agreement.
The chairman of the zone , while condemning the partial and non-implementation of the salary component of the 2025 FGN/ASUU Agreement, berated the Edo, Ondo and Delta State governments for failing to implement the agreement five months after the federal government’s directive.
He further warned that public universities may face imminent paralysis if the government continues its old tactics of disrespecting collective bargaining and binding agreements
