The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has expressed frustration over the Federal Government’s continued inaction on issues affecting lecturers, warning that its members will only accept a concrete counteroffer to the long-delayed 2009 agreement.

Naijaonpoint reports that the National President of ASUU, Prof. Chris Piwuna, said the union’s patience has been stretched, insisting that the government must move beyond “mere words.”

The Minister of Education, Prof. Tunji Alausa, had on Thursday disclosed that a technical committee led by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Abel Enitan, was preparing a “clean proposal” to be presented to ASUU.

Alausa, while addressing newsmen at a press briefing, said, “We’ve decided on a counter-proposal to them. We now close by setting up a high-level technical team to clean up our proposal, come with a clean document.”

The 2009 agreement, last signed between ASUU and the Federal Government, remains the benchmark for lecturers’ welfare, though the union has long demanded a review.

Reacting to the government’s plan, Prof. Piwuna, in an interview with Sunday Punch, stated that only a genuine, workable proposal would be acceptable.

“I truly hope they will come up with something tangible. Our members are tired of words and no action,” he said.