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NEPC storms PH with AfCFTA’s GTI strategies, reveals products that trade fast in Africa

The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has moved to the south-south with strategies to mobilise the region for participation in the Guided Trade Initiative (GTI) of the African Continental Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

This is as the Council also revealed products that move fast in intra-Africa trade.

These were highlighted in the keynote speech presented by Nonye Ayeni, the Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of the NEPC, at the AfCFTA GTI workshop in Port Harcourt on Onboarding Nigerian Exporters into the AfCFTA through the GTI.

The keynote address, which was delivered on CEO’s behalf by Arnold Jackson (Director, State Offices Coordinating Department, NEPC Headquarters), said Nigeria has joined in the GTI which now has 24 countries after the initial group of five.

She said the last Intra-Africa Trade Fair (IATF) held in Algiers (Algeria), Nigerian enterprises generated millions of Dollars in signed deals and Nigeria won the ‘Best Pavilion for Doing Business’.

She said the range of products being prioritized under the expanded GTI are value-added agricultural products, manufactured products, garment and textile, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, and services, all of which are in abundance in Nigeria.

Ayeni said the day’s focus was to ensure that Nigerian exporters were not left behind. ‘We must actively position our businesses especially SMEs to seize the early mover advantages that GTI offers.’

She said Nigerian exporters now have access to a continental market where over 90% of tariffs will gradually be eliminated. ‘This means reduced costs and increased competitiveness for Nigerian products and services.’

She said many FG agencies were poised to help Nigerian entrepreneurs to play big in AfCFTA. The NEPC boss mentioned ways of supporting SMEs to hook up bigtime in AfCFTA, such as capacity building through training exporters on AfCFTA protocols, rules of origin, standards, and market requirements; etc.

She also talked about export financing including expanding access to financing instruments that help exporters scale production and meet demand; digital platforms such as leveraging technology for market intelligence, e-certificates of origin, and trade documentation.

She said the opportunities offered by AfCFTA were in form of give-and-take, for Nigeria to fully benefit, exporters must rise up to the challenges by ensuring compliance with quality standards and certification. It also requires building competitiveness through innovation and value-addition; collaborating across sectors to create regional value chains; and actively engaging with NEPC and other agencies to address challenges encountered during GTI participation.

She said: ‘In conclusion, the Guided Trade Initiative is the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to the African Continental Free Trade Area. Let us be the generation of Nigeria business leaders who looked out at the continent and saw not barriers, but boundless opportunities. Let us be the ones who moved from aspiration to operation, who turned the promise of 1.4 billion people into prosperity for our people.

‘Together, let us make the Guided Trade Initiative the springboard for Nigeria’s exporters to conquer African markets and beyond.’

Arnold added that NEPC wants to mainstream the initiative because each of the 774 local government areas in Nigeria has one thing to produce and export.

In a welcome address, Benedict Itegbe, the NEPC regional coordinator, harped on the need for Africans to trade among themselves to unlock the major opportunities that are available in the continent. To that extent, he said, AfCFTA Nigeria has been able to create structures and platforms that would facilitate trading among African nations with the GTI.

He said: ‘First stage was a huge success, second stage is ongoing and today we have the privilege of having some experienced professionals in the venue to explain the processes with all round information on the opportunities.

‘We have a lot of women in our midst. We are committed to empowering women in non-oil export. We are all aware of our latest partnership with World Trade Centre (WTC) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) headed by our own sister (Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala) and a lot have been done to empower women through discoveries and grant.’

Promotion of non-oil export has been intensive in the Niger Delta in recent years.

Fed Govt, GenCos agree on payment of N4tr debt

The Federal Government has finalised implementation frameworks for N4 trillion in government-backed bonds to settle verified arrears owed to power generation companies (GenCos) and gas suppliers.

The Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, disclosed this in a statement signed by the Head of the media and communications unit in the SA’s office, Senan Murray, yesterday.

The meeting was attended by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, Minister of Power, Bayo Adelabu, and Ms Verheijen.

According to the statement, the agreement was reached at a meeting between federal government officials and the senior executives of GenCos to review settlement modalities for the outstanding debt.

‘The meeting concluded with a consensus on the way forward, which includes conducting bilateral negotiations to finalise full and final settlement agreements that balance fiscal realities with the financial constraints of the GenCos.

‘This intervention- the largest in over a decade, addresses a legacy debt overhang that has constrained investment, weakened utility balance sheets, and hindered reliable power delivery across the country. ‘

This is a major step by the Federal Government toward restoring financial stability and investor confidence in the electricity market,’ the statement said.

It explained that the agreement followed a landmark initiative approved by President Bola Tinubu and the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to address structural bottlenecks and lay the groundwork for large-scale private sector-led investment and sustained economic growth.

According to Murray, at the meeting, Ms Verheijen said the Federal Government’s focus was on creating the right conditions for investment by modernising the grid, improving distribution and scaling embedded generation. The step would also help in closing metering gaps, aligning tariffs with efficient costs, improving subsidy targeting to support the poor and vulnerable, and restoring regulatory trust.

‘The sector is shifting from crisis response to sustained delivery and building the confidence needed to attract large-scale private capital,’ she said.

Also at the meeting, Edun said the reforms were beyond liquidity, as it would help in ‘rebuilding the fundamentals so that Nigeria’s power sector works for investors, for citizens and for the next generation.

‘This is how we create the enabling conditions for sustained private investment and transform reliable power into a catalyst for economic growth. Complementary efforts to scale renewable energy, leverage domestic gas as a transition fuel, and build local technical and institutional capacity will position Nigeria not just for energy security, but for energy sovereignty, creating one of Africa’s most attractive power markets,’ he said.

The Chairman of Heirs Holdings and Transcorp Power, Tony Elumelu, noted that for the first time in years, the sector is seeing a credible and systematic effort by the government to tackle the root liquidity challenges in the power sector. He commended President Tinubu and his economic team for the bold and transformative step.

Speaking in the same vein, Goup Managing Director of Sahara Power Group, Kola Adesina said the initiative was significant in every respect.

According to him, it renews confidence in the reform process and is a clear signal that the government is serious about building a sustainable power sector. Adesina noted that, beyond clearing arrears, the debt reduction plan signalled a strategic reset of Nigeria’s electricity market. The Presidential Power Sector Debt Reduction Plan is being jointly implemented by the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Federal Ministry of Power, and the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, in collaboration with the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) Plc and other key stakeholders.

Industry needs demand result-oriented degrees, experts urge

Experts are emphasising the urgent need for academic programmes to adapt to the evolving demands of the job market, advocating for result-oriented degrees that equip graduates with practical skills and industry-relevant knowledge.

They argue that bridging this gap is essential to addressing Nigeria’s youth unemployment and ensuring that graduates possess the skills relevant to today’s industries.

Olayinka David-West, dean of the Lagos Business School, represented by Henry Ogundolire, who spoke on ‘Degree with Direction’, at the 2025 Global Education Conference, held in Lagos, said a degree without direction is a journey without a map.

David-West explained that a degree gives a student little more insight into their direction if they are only curious and think about things a little more than ordinary students who believe a degree is all that is required to succeed in life.

‘So if you’re going to have degrees, you’re going to have a degree with direction which requires thinking.

‘If you think critically about a course, that will definitely give you an understanding about your destination with clarity, courage, and purpose,’ he said.

Besides, he emphasised that in the contemporary era, the most critical skill people need to pay attention to is learning.

‘We live in an era where the correlation between education and opportunity is being redefined. This is the world of AI. Having a degree is certainly no longer the final destination. It’s just the foundation.

‘What really matters is what you can do with what you know, so think about it this way, every course you study is not just about mastering content, it’s about building capabilities,’ he noted.

Mary Agbu, the country director for StudyIn Nigeria, the organisers of the 2025 Global Education Conference, was predicated on giving students studying in international destinations and Nigerian universities support, and to bridge the knowledge gap, and help them become more purposeful and intentional in their study journey.

‘Most students lack the skills employers are for, as entrepreneurs complain about skills mismatch in the workplace.

‘Besides, students complain of not having a good forum where they can actually make inquiries, have somebody listen to them carefully and give them correct answers, and also bring up a platform for matching the two aspirational stakeholders,’ she said.

Agbu called on all stakeholders to collaborate to change the whole concept of career, education, and to begin to embrace the concept of understanding what works for people.

We have a separate segment, which is on the other side, what we call the family, and we have quite a number, a total of 17 universities.

No fewer than 17 universities from across the world were on the ground to engage with parents and students on what it takes to study outside of Nigeria and especially in their institutions.

She emphasised that the engagement would be a deliberate one to expose potential students to the benefits and challenges ahead, and the career pathways that could help students achieve their aspirations.

‘So, intentionality is actually the key factor of the kind of engagement we’re looking for with delegates.

‘It’s no longer the old pattern where the degrees are crossing, the students haven’t even worked it down, haven’t asked very deep questions, hence, this time around, we’re actually pushing for ideal engagement,’ she noted.

Zahra Parker, an infectious disease public health scientist, said bridging the gap between education and employability demands that students acquire some sort of experience in their career interest areas.

‘As a student, you can go to school and have all the technical know-how, but you need to have practical experience that will make you attractive to an employer.

‘The huge factor in bridging the gap is gaining hands-on and practical knowledge,’ she said.

Alleged genocide against Christians: Senate sets up advisory panel

The Senate yesterday constituted a 12-man ad hoc committee to advise it on how to respond to growing international concerns over alleged state-backed persecution of Christians in Nigeria.

The resolution of the Senate followed its deliberations during a closed-door session, where lawmakers debated on recent claims by the United States Government suggesting possible acts of genocide against Christians in some parts of the country.

The Senate’s move also followed increasing diplomatic scrutiny and the potential implications of such allegations on Nigeria’s international reputation and interfaith relations.

Members of the committee include: Senators Victor Umeh, Yemi Adaramodu, Aniekan Bassey, Niyi Adegbonmire, Abdul Ningi, and Titus Zam.

Others are: Senators Tony Nwoye, Mohammed Tahir Munguno, and Asuquo Ekpenyong.

The committee has been tasked with developing a comprehensive position paper for presentation to both the Executive and the Senate.

The committee is expected to come up with a document that would shape Nigeria’s legislative stance on the matter and guide its engagement in ongoing international discussions.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who made the declaration, noted that the position paper must be backed with verifiable facts and statistics.

The Red Chamber resolved to engage with the United States Congress to address and counter what it described as misleading narratives portraying the country’s security challenges as a Christian genocide.

The decision followed a motion moved by Senator Ali Ndume (Borno South) last week, which sparked a broader debate among lawmakers on the international perception of Nigeria’s internal security issues.

During deliberations, lawmakers had expressed concern that such narratives, though often arising from genuine concern, are grossly misinforming international partners and damaging Nigeria’s global image and economy.

Akpabio mooted the idea that an ad hoc committee be set up to visit the United States and directly engage with American lawmakers to clarify the situation.

The Senate President stressed the need for private discussions, suggesting a closed-door session and a smaller delegation to undertake the engagement.

‘There are misconceptions that need to be corrected. We are dealing with a complex terrorist threat and it’s important that our counterparts in the US understand that the violence affects both Christians and Muslims,’ he said.

2026 World Cup: Nigeria to face Gabon in CAF play-off

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has released the fixtures and dates for the 2026 FIFA World Cup African play-off, as four nations vie for one remaining continental ticket.

CAF confirmed that Morocco, the host nation for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), will also stage the play-offs, which will determine the final team to advance to the intercontinental play-offs.

Following their emphatic 4-0 win over Benin Republic in Uyo, thanks to Victor Osimhen’s hat-trick, the Super Eagles of Nigeria secured a place in the play-offs, joining Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Gabon.

According to CAF’s schedule, the play-off fixtures will take place on November 13, 2025, with Cameroon vs. DR Congo and Nigeria vs. Gabon.

Both matches will be one-legged ties played on neutral ground in Morocco. The winners of the two encounters will meet in the final on November 16, 2025, with the winner earning the sole African slot in the Intercontinental Play-off.

CAF also confirmed that the play-off pairings were determined based on FIFA’s World Rankings as of October, with the highest-ranked team playing the lowest-ranked, and the second-highest-ranked team facing the second-lowest-ranked.

The African play-off winner will advance to the Six-Team Intercontinental Play-off, set to be held in the Mexican cities of Guadalajara and Monterrey in March 2026.

The mini-tournament will feature Bolivia, New Caledonia, two teams from Central America, and one from Asia, with two nations ultimately qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Intensify mobilisation for PDP victory in 2027, Aborisade urges party leaders

A People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant in Oyo State, Chief Niyi Aborisade, has urged leaders and members of the party to strengthen grassroots mobilisation and unite to ensure victory in 2027 general elections.

Aborisade stressed importance of collective efforts and unity ahead of the party primaries.

Speaking during a stakeholders’ consultative meeting in Yemetu, Ibadan, which drew PDP chieftains from across the 11 local government areas in Ibadanland, Aborisade assured that Governor Seyi Makinde would provide a level-playing field for all aspirants in the 2027 elections.

The stakeholders meeting formed part of Aborisade’s ongoing statewide consultations in pursuit of his governorship ambition under the PDP.

He said: ‘We have visited Oke-Ogun, Ogbomoso, and Ibarapa zones on multiple occasions. We are loyal to the PDP and not leaving. The party is our home. The primary election is near, and we must mobilise from the wards, compounds, and zones to secure victory.

‘Unity is key. We cannot do this alone. We will use Oyo State to reposition the Yoruba people as Balogun Oderinlo did in his time. I am your son, and I know your efforts will not be in vain.

‘This meeting was to engage PDP leaders in all 11 local government areas of Ibadanland. It was about strategy. I am grateful that the leaders unanimously endorsed my candidature. They were pleased that someone with a long record of standing for the people is stepping forward to serve.’

In a show of solidarity, key PDP stakeholders at the meeting declared their support for Aborisade’s ambition, describing him as a man of integrity, strong character, and proven loyalty to the party.

Present at the meeting were Mallam Muideen Yusuf, Hon. Ibrahim Adelabu, Rafiu Ibrahim and other grassroots mobilisers.

Mallam Yusuf said: ‘We must intensify our efforts for this project. Balogun Oderinlo conquered invaders; he is Aborisade’s forefather. This is more than politics. It is destiny.’

On his part. Hon. Adelabu added: ‘Chief Niyi Aborisade is God-fearing, consistent, and deeply rooted in the PDP. He is an author, lawyer, industrialist, and rights activist. We are fully behind him. What we need now is strong, strategic mobilisation at all levels.’

The leaders highlighted Aborisade’s family background, referencing his father, Chief Abel Aborisade, as a loyal and long-serving party member.

Film training holds the key to unlocking Nollywood’s full potential

Nollywood produces over 2,500 films annually, making it one of the most prolific industries in the world. Yet numbers only tell half the story. Without structured training, this growth is at risk of becoming shallow. The Nigerian film industry thrives on raw talent and creative flair, but with the absence of specialised skills in storytelling, sound design, editing and management, its ability to mature into a truly global competitor is threatened.

As noted by Olasunkanmi Adebayo, head of the British Council’s Film Lab Africa, Nollywood urgently needs ‘more capacity building programmes’. While institutions like the National Film Institute, Royal Arts Academy, EbonyLife Creative Academy, Kunle Afolayan Film Production Academy, and Del-York Creative Academy offer training in production and content creation, their reach is limited. Most of these institutes are concentrated in Lagos and Abuja, with fees that exclude many aspiring creatives. This often results in a situation where a demand for trained professionals increases, but the supply chain remains uneven and narrow.

These structural gaps are evident across technical and managerial fields. Sound engineers, film editors, production coordinators, and story developers are in short supply, and even basic soft skills, such as teamwork and punctuality, are often found lacking. Film schools often prioritise the more glamorous aspects of cinema, such as directing and acting, neglecting the less visible but equally critical technical roles. The outcome is a predictable overflow of creative ambition lacking technical execution. Atinuke Babatunde, the academy director of the MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF), points out at the August edition of the SMC Filmmakers’ Forum, ‘If you’re looking for a great sound person, you will still struggle.’ This deficit not only affects filmmakers but also undermines Nollywood’s global competitiveness, especially where high production values are non-negotiable.

Storytelling, the core of filmmaking, also reveals the cracks in training. Poor storycraft diminishes artistic merit and even limits commercial potential, and with international viewers increasingly demanding well-integrated storylines, Nollywood will be constrained in national circulation unless scriptwriting workshops, story incubators, and mentorship frameworks are established.

Government programmes have begun paying attention to this gap, though often indirectly. The Digital Access and Livelihoods Initiative (DALI) was launched in August 2025 by the Vice-President, Kashim Shettima, with the ambitious goal of training 20 million Nigerian citizens with digital skills by the year 2030. As commendable as this seems, its generic framework runs the risk of diffusing focus. Unless there are specified routes within creative sectors, Nollywood will be sidelined in the broader policy that is tech-centric. A generic digital capabilities programme cannot substitute for film-specialised training in editing software, production management, or cinematic storytelling.

Educational institutions also offer glimmers of progress. Some Nigerian universities are including practice-based modules in the curriculum, familiarising students with screenwriting, cinematography, and editing. The shift from theory-based learning towards experiential learning signals a welcome trend, but one still too limited in scale. Without stronger ties between academia and industry, graduates risk leaving school with certificates but little or no job experience or employable expertise.

The way forward is quite clear. First, Nollywood needs a proper competency framework, that is, clear standards for editors, cinematographers, sound engineers, and story editors. Without standards, training certificates are just paper. Second, training centres must move beyond Lagos and Abuja. The industry will never reach its full potential if geography decides who gets access. Third, scholarships should target the underserved but essential roles, such as sound, editing, production design, and talent management. These are the spine of filmmaking, yet they remain the least supported.

All of this matters because Nollywood is bigger than entertainment. It is a soft power tool, a source of national pride, and a contributor to GDP. However, its future cannot rest on volume alone. Prolific is good, but professional is better.

The irony is that Nollywood already has what the world wants: energy, stories, and a unique cultural lens. What it lacks are the technical and managerial skills to refine these assets into consistently world-class productions. Thus, training is not an afterthought; rather, it is the bedrock. Invest in it today, and Nollywood will not only hold its own at home but also command respect on the global stage. Ignore it, and we risk becoming an industry that never grows beyond its first draft.

Real estate firm dismisses allegations

Real estate firm, Houses for Africa Nigeria Limited, has dismissed as false and misleading, a recent publication alleging that it had disowned one of its directors, Mr. Kojo Ansah Mensah.

A statement yesterday by company secretary, described the report credited to Adeniran Olatokunbo Ogunmuyiwa as ‘riddled with falsehood’ and an attempt to mislead the public on the ownership and management structure of the firm.

It said the legitimate directors of Houses for Africa Nigeria Limited as recorded with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) are: Mr. Kojo Ansah Mensah, Sir Samuel Esson Jonah, Mr. Victor Quainoo, and Mr. Jonah Nathaniel. The company stressed that anyone else claiming to act on its behalf was doing so fraudulently.

Although Ogunmuyiwa was initially a shareholder and director, the firm clarified that he voluntarily exited the company following a Heads of Agreement signed on June 1, 2012, and a Special Resolution dated April 9, 2013, relinquishing his 20 percent shareholding.

His resignation, the company added, was formalized in 2017.

‘As part of his exit package, Mr. Ogunmuyiwa was granted development rights over 94.8 hectares of land in River Park and an additional 45 hectares for settlement of company creditors, which he failed to fulfill,’ the company alleged.

It also stated that since 2014, Mr. Kojo Ansah Mensah has been the sole signatory to all company accounts domiciled in Zenith Bank, UBA, and Wema Bank, overseeing salary payments, tax remittances, pension deductions and building permit fees.

The company further distanced itself from a purported lawsuit filed against the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) by Chief Anthony Malik (SAN), insisting that neither its board nor its directors authorized such legal action.

‘We challenge Chief Malik to show proof that any payments received as legal fees came from the official accounts of Houses for Africa Nigeria Limited,’ the statement read.

The firm urged the media and the public to verify any claims regarding its ownership or representation through CAC records, warning against being misled by unauthorized individuals.

Attached to the statement were certified CAC documents, Ogunmuyiwa’s resignation letter, his exit agreement, and bank statements confirming payments to his consulting firm.

BusinessDay appoints Ijeoma Ude as its Executive Director of Sales

BusinessDay, West Africa’s leading provider of business intelligence and market-moving news, has appointed Ijeoma Ude as its Executive Director of Sales, a strategic move that reflects the company’s commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction.

With a remarkable career spanning years, Ude brings a unique blend of skills and experience to drive sales growth and revenue.

Ude’s elevation from Chief Marketing and Sales Officer leverages her proven expertise in sales leadership and marketing acumen to propel the organization forward.

In her new role, Ude will provide strategic direction and oversight for the sales function, spearheading initiatives to drive advertising revenue, secure key sponsorships, and foster business growth.

As a member of the senior leadership team, she will work in close collaboration with other top executives to ensure alignment with the company’s overall objectives, driving BusinessDay’s continued success in the market.

Her key responsibilities would include developing and implementing sales strategies to meet revenue targets; leading a team of sales professionals to drive advertising and sponsorship sales; building relationships with key clients and stakeholders; identifying new business opportunities and pitches;

collaborating with editorial and content teams to create attractive packages for clients; analyzing market trends and competitor activity to inform sales decisions and driving revenue growth and meeting sales targets.

Having begun her career with the organization, over the years she has grown overtime from a young aspiring media executive to roles of increasing responsibility to the position of a Business Development Executive and then to the General Manager Advert, Chief Marketing and Sales Officer and now

the Executive Director of Sales.

Her commitment and immeasurable dedication to the brand have earned her many meritable awards including the ‘Distinguished Staff Merit Award’ in 2008 as Best Marketing Executive and the most recent Manager of the Year Award in 2021.

You may avidly describe her as one who constantly seeks knowledge and possesses the will to remain at the top. This is evidently depicted in the plethora of Certifications she holds.

She is an alumna of the esteemed Lagos Business School and a member of the Advertising Practitioner Council of Nigeria (APCON).

She also holds doctoral fellowships to the following professional bodies; FIGPCM, CCM, LPC, FCIHRM, CHRP, AISM, and IPMA.

She has gone on to bag many educational qualifications and degrees; LLB Law, University of Bradford, UK; Masters of Business Administration (MBA), University of Chichester, UK; Business Management, Metropolitan School Of Business Management, UK; and Senior Management Program,

Lagos Business School.

Her professional certifications include Doctorate of Philosophy, in Leadership and Organizational Management; Distinguished Fellow, Institute of Leadership Manpower and Management Development; Doctoral Fellow Institute of Global Peace and Conflict management; Fellow, African Institute of Strategic Managers; Fellow, Professional Managers and Administrators; Certified Human Resource Professional – Doctoral Fellow, Chartered Institute of Human Resource Management; Certified Professional Manager and Administrator Institute of Professional Managers and Administrator of Nigeria; Certified Advertising Specialist (TAS) and Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria.

Ude is also a certified Conflict Manager, licensed Peace and Conflictologist and certified Human Resource Professional – CHRP.

She holds other certifications in Operational Business Strategies for Media Effectiveness; Professional Sales and Relationship Management;

Charted Institute of Human Resources Management; Institute of Professional Managers and Administrators of Nigeria; Cross-selling for Sales Professionals; Executive Development Programme on Leading Teams for Optimal Performance; Leading with Personal impact during slow Growth; Beyond Survival: Developing Actionable Strategies for Success in Era Of Negative Growth, amongst others.

All these are from reputable bodies such as the School of Media and Communication Pan-African University, Workforce Group, Texem, Lagos state government (Ministry of Commerce, Industry and cooperatives), Journalism Clinic and Advertising Practitioners Council Nigeria (APCON).

She also has a series of corporate management recommendations in the industry. To put it quite modestly, she has been and would continue to be a major force in the media and advertising industry in Nigeria.

Reps’ leadership to lead intervention in ASUU strike

The leadership of the House of Representatives has moved to end the lingering rift between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

The House resolved to seek a lasting solution, following a motion sponsored by Sesi Oluwaseun Whingan, the lawmaker representing Badagry Federal Constituency.

On Sunday, ASUU embarked on a two-week warning strike pending the Federal Government’s resolve to meet the demands listed in its agreement with the union.

The government, in response to the warning strike, announced a ‘no work, no pay’ policy while admonishing lecturers to return to classrooms.

But in his motion, Whingan urged the parties to embrace dialogue and prioritise the interests of students who he said were at the receiving end of the faceoff.

Reacting to the motion, House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas said he would lead an ad hoc committee to mediate between the Federal Government and the union.

The lawmakers called for the establishment of a sustainable joint consultative platform, which would be recognised by both parties for future engagements and communication.

He stressed that the warning strike, among other industrial actions previously taken by academic workers’ unions, has continued to impede the lives of students across government-owned tertiary schools in the country.

Describing the university system as the bedrock of Nigeria’s development, Whingan said strike actions have derailed several research works and heightened frustration among students, parents and lecturers.

He said incessant strikes in Nigeria’s institutions have also contributed to brain drain, an increased number of student dropouts, and reduced confidence in the country’s academic system.

According to him, the government and the union must embrace dialogue anchored on transparency and mutual respect for all parties to bring a lasting solution to the challenge.

Also, stakeholders, under the aegis of the Future Nigeria Movement (FNM), have criticised the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) for its continued use of strikes as the main means to interact with the Federal Government.

In a statement yesterday in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, by its National Leader, Livingstone Wechie, the group described ASUU’s approach as unpatriotic and detrimental to national development.

FNM urged the union to embrace dialogue instead of resorting to industrial actions to gain attention.

‘The recent declaration of a two-week warning strike will further drown the educational fortunes of what is left of Nigeria,’ it said.

The group expressed concern that the latest strike came at a time ASUU had acknowledged a severe intellectual crisis in public universities, citing the exit of 309 professors across the country as ‘an intellectual haemorrhage’ threatening the sector’s survival.

FNM urged the Federal Government to treat ASUU’s demands as a national priority but insisted that both parties must explore alternative dispute-resolution mechanisms to prevent further disruption of academic activities.

Also, there were indications yesterday that the Tai Solarin Federal University of Education (TASUED), Ijagun; the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUAA), and the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago Iwoye, all in Ogun State, have joined the ASUU strike, as directed by the union’s leadership.

ASUU members in TASUED, in compliance with the national directive of ASUU, have stayed away from the lecture rooms pending the expiration of the 14-day warning strike, which commenced on Monday.

Also, at the University of Ibadan (UI), ASUU Chairman, Dr. Adefemi Afolabi, faulted the Federal Government’s decision to enforce its ‘no-work, no-pay’ policy, describing it as a panicky and knee-jerk response.

Afolabi spoke with The Nation on the ongoing 14-day warning strike, stating that the government’s approach would not resolve the crisis.

He urged the government to convene a meeting with the union and sign the draft agreement submitted by the Alhaji Yayale Ahmed committee.

‘This warning strike could have been avoided if the report submitted to the Minister of Education in February 2025 had been signed,’ Afolabi stated.

Also, the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, has directed vice chancellors to strictly implement the ‘no-work, no-pay’ directive against striking ASUU members.

He also ordered physical headcounts of lecturers present at work, saying the National Universities Commission (NUC) would monitor compliance and submit a consolidated report to the ministry.

Alausa expressed disappointment that ASUU embarked on the strike despite government’s appeal for dialogue.

The minister announced that most of the union’s demands had been addressed.