By Feyisayo Arowolo
“Should government fail to resolve the issues within the one month window, ASUU reserves the right to resume the strike without further notice at all.”
The Academic Staff Union of Universities has announced the suspension of its ongoing two-week warning strike. This was made known by the National President of ASUU, Prof. Chris Piwuna in a press conference in Abuja today.
According to Piwuna, the decision was taken at the National Executive Council Meeting which was held overnight till Wednesday morning.
The warning strike which was due to expire next Monday followed a renewed commitment from the federal government to address key issues raised by the union.
The ASUU president revealed that following the commencement of the strike, the Federal Government re-engaged the union through a team led by Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, which met with ASUU representatives on October 16 and 18, to discuss the government’s response to the draft renegotiated agreement.
According to him, although the meetings did not fully resolve all issues, the union recognised that significant progress had been made compared to the pre-strike period.
He said, “We have not achieved all our objectives, but we are certainly not where we were before the strike began. This shows that had the government responded earlier, there would have been no need for the action.”
He explained that the decision was taken in deference to students, parents, the media, the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and other well-meaning Nigerians who had shown solidarity and mediated in the dispute.
Piwuna also commended the intervention of the Senate Committees on Tertiary Education and TETFund, and Labour, as well as the Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin, whose mediation, he said, had rekindled hope for a lasting resolution.
Prof. Piwuna warned the federal government to settle all demands within one month or they will be forced to resume strike.
“Should government fail to resolve the issues within the one month window, ASUU reserves the right to resume the strike without further notice at all.”
He appealed to Nigerians, stakeholders in education to prevail on the government to speedily resolve key issues.
ASUU is currently demanding the conclusion of the renegotiated 2009 FGN-ASUU agreement, the release of the withheld three and a half months’ salaries, sustainable funding of public universities, revitalisation of public universities, and cessation of the victimisation of lecturers in LASU, Prince Abubakar Audu University, and FUTO.
Others are payment of outstanding 25-35% salary arrears, payment of promotion arrears for over four years and release of withheld third-party deductions (cooperative contributions, union check-off dues).
Recall that on October 12, 2025, a “total and comprehensive” strike was declared by ASUU following the expiration of a 14-day ultimatum issued to the government on September 28, 2025.
Sources: The Punch News, Vanguard News, TVC News.
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