The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has announced the suspension of its two-week warning strike, giving the Federal Government a one-month ultimatum to conclude the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement and resolve other pending issues affecting the nation’s public universities.
The announcement was made by ASUU President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday.
Piwuna explained that the suspension followed productive engagements between the union and a Federal Government team led by Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, as well as interventions by the National Assembly.
“When we gathered here about 10 days ago to painfully declare a warning strike, it was a decision that left us with no other choice,” Piwuna said. “The government had ignored our repeated overtures to address issues critical to the survival of Nigeria’s public universities.”
The ASUU President noted that meetings held on October 16 and 18 marked significant progress, even though not all concerns were fully addressed.
“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 added.
He lauded the Senate Committees on Tertiary Education and TETFund, and Labour, as well as the Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin, for mediating in the dispute and helping to reopen channels of dialogue.
Following an emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held between October 21 and 22, ASUU resolved to suspend the warning strike, describing it as a gesture of goodwill and respect for students, parents, the media, and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) who had shown solidarity during the crisis.
However, the union warned that if the government fails to deliver tangible results within the next month, it would resume industrial action without further notice.
“The struggle continues,” Piwuna declared. “We call on all patriotic Nigerians to prevail on the government to honour its commitments to ensure industrial harmony and stability in the academic calendar.”
ASUU’s warning strike, declared on October 13, 2025, had disrupted academic activities nationwide, with the union demanding urgent action on issues including the implementation of the renegotiated 2009 agreement, payment arrears, funding for revitalisation of public universities, and improved welfare for academic staff.
The government is expected to present a finalised position on the renegotiated agreement before the one-month window expires in mid-November.
