This was as he admitted that a formal agreement was indeed
signed in 2009.

Alausa, in a statement released on Friday, clarified that
the 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement remains the only valid and binding document to
date.

His retraction is coming barely 24 hours after he dismissed
ASUU’s position as being based on a mere draft, insisting no agreement had ever
been signed, a claim the union immediately faulted.

The ministry, however, acknowledged that the 2009 agreement
stands as the last officially signed pact.

According to the statement, efforts to review the agreement
began in 2017, when the then Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu,
inaugurated a renegotiation committee.

That process reportedly produced the draft Nimi Briggs
Agreement in May 2021, but the government emphasized that it was never formally
executed.

“When the Honourable Minister stated that there had been ‘no
new signed agreement’ with ASUU, he was referring specifically to the 2021
draft Nimi Briggs document, which has not been formally executed.

“The Ministry therefore reaffirms that the 2009 FGN-ASUU
Agreement remains the last formally signed agreement. The 2021 draft serves
only as the latest framework for discussions,” the statement read in part.

The ministry further assured that government remains
committed to resolving the 16-year-old impasse with ASUU through sustainable
and constitutionally backed measures, in line with President Bola Tinubu’s
Renewed Hope Agenda.

It urged the public and stakeholders to disregard any
misinterpretations of the minister’s earlier remarks, stressing that keeping
universities open for teaching and research remains the administration’s
priority.