Education Promises: Tinubu has Delivered Three Years On, No ASUU Strike, Says Alausa

• As ministers urge UNIABUJA students to vote Tinubu

Kuni Tyessi in Abuja

President Bola Tinubu’s 2023 campaign promise that 4-year courses will be 4-year courses has so far avoided disruption from nationwide university strikes, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, has claimed.

So far, amongst several interventions running into billions of Naira, N160b has been spent on building of hostels nationwide, N100b has been approved for the provision of more infrastructure, N50b this year alone for the rehabilitation of ICT centres, and millions of entrepreneurial studies for innovation have been established.

This was stated on Thursday at the University of Abuja, now Yakubu Gowon University by Dr. Tunji Alausa during a panel discussion tagged “Renewed Hope Conversations,” organized by the students of the Faculty of Management Sciences.

The programme was attended by the Minister of Arts, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Uba Maigari Ahmadu and several head of agencies such as NELFUND and NITDA.

The minister responding to a question on why Nigerians, particularly students, should vote for the President Tinubu’s second tenure, said data shows there’s no major ASUU strike since Tinubu assumed office on May 29, 2023, following an 8-month shutdown that ended in October 2022 under the previous administration.

 “Most federal universities are in session today. For students admitted in September 2023, graduation remains on track for 2027 if calendars hold. This is an administration that has provided a loan fund for to make schooling easier for students and today there is no students that can claim that he is out of School due to lack of resources.

“By February 2026, the fund recorded over 1.7 million student registrations, with more than 600,000 loans approved and N104 billion released for tuition and stipends.

In her response on continuity, the Minister of Creative Economy, Musawa, said another reason to be considered for Tinubu’s second bid is for the preservation of Nigeria’s future which she said the government is framing its economic agenda as a deliberate break from past policies, citing tough decisions been taken to reposition the country globally.

She said as TikTok generation, the administration is directly targeting young Nigerians to create value with the talents they have, and the culture within the enabling environment which creators can use to create content and import value from it as viable alternatives to traditional employment paths.

“Nigeria kept doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. This administration chose a different route to secure our rightful position on the committee of nations.

“This is the first ministry of its kind. The ministry was created to give structure to sectors like music, film, fashion, and digital content that have been successful organically without government coming on board. The goal is to provide a formal handshake between government and creatives.

“We are delivering tourism policy, creative economy policy, cultural policy, and an incentive policy. The policies aim to help creators in the “TikTok and digital sector protect intellectual property, access incentives, and monetize content without you having to know someone at the middle or having to work in an oil industry” she added.

In giving assurance to the students that they can become men and women of purpose and destiny without godfathers, the Minister of Urban Development, used his personal experience to argue that the current administration is an open government to Nigerians without political connections.

 “Before this administration, I was unknown outside Taraba. The president appointed me without ever meeting me or me lobbying him.  Under this government, a ‘son of a nobody’ can become somebody. That’s the Nigeria we’re building.”

This engagement will focus on key national priorities in education, fostering dialogue on policies and initiatives under the Renewed Hope Agenda.