By Deborah Nnamdi
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has suspended its two-week warning strike declared across public universities in Nigeria, granting the Federal Government a one-month grace period to address unresolved issues affecting the nation’s tertiary education sector.
ASUU President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, announced the decision on Wednesday during a press conference at the union’s national secretariat in Abuja. He explained that the suspension followed fruitful engagements with the Federal Government and the intervention of the Senate and other well-meaning Nigerians.
Piwuna recalled that the union had declared the warning strike on October 13, 2025, in protest against the government’s failure to act on the lingering renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement and other welfare-related demands of university lecturers.
“When we gathered here about ten days ago to painfully declare a warning strike, it was a decision that left us with no other choice. The government had ignored our repeated overtures to address issues critical to the survival of Nigeria’s public universities,” he said.
According to the ASUU president, the Federal Government re-engaged the union following the strike through a team led by Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, which met with ASUU representatives on October 16 and 18 to discuss the draft renegotiated agreement.
Piwuna noted that while the meetings did not completely resolve all issues, they yielded significant progress compared to the situation before the strike began. He also commended the intervention of the Senate Committees on Tertiary Education and TETFund, Labour, and the Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin, whose mediation efforts, he said, rekindled hope for a lasting resolution.
Following an emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held from October 21–22, 2025, ASUU reviewed developments and concluded that the warning strike had achieved part of its purpose, particularly in compelling the government to return to the negotiation table.
“While noting that more work remains to be done, NEC resolved to suspend the warning strike to allow for a conducive atmosphere for further engagement,” Piwuna announced.
He said the decision was made in consideration of students, parents, the media, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), and other Nigerians who had shown solidarity during the industrial action.
ASUU, however, warned that if the government fails to resolve all outstanding issues within the one-month window, the union would resume its strike without further notice.
“The struggle continues,” Piwuna declared, urging patriotic Nigerians to prevail on the government to honour its commitments to ensure lasting industrial harmony in the university system.
