The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has announced the suspension of its two-week warning strike, granting the Federal Government a one-month window to finalise the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement and address lingering challenges in the nation’s public university system.
Professor Chris Piwuna, ASUU President, disclosed this development on Wednesday during a press briefing in Abuja, attributing the suspension to constructive engagements with the Federal Government and critical interventions by the National Assembly.
ASUU had initiated the strike on October 13, 2025, citing the government’s failure to respond adequately to repeated appeals concerning the stalled renegotiation of the 2009 agreement and unresolved welfare issues affecting university lecturers.
“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. The government had ignored our repeated overtures to address issues critical to the survival of Nigeria’s public universities,” Piwuna stated.
Following the commencement of the strike, the Federal Government promptly re-engaged ASUU through a negotiation team led by Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, which held meetings with union representatives on October 16 and 18 to discuss the draft renegotiated agreement.
Although the meetings did not settle all outstanding issues, the union acknowledged “significant progress” compared to the pre-strike situation.
“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,” the ASUU leader said.
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 efforts rekindled hope for a lasting resolution.
After an emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held from October 21 to 22, the union resolved that the warning strike had partially succeeded in compelling the government back 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.
The ASUU president said the decision was also influenced by concerns for students, parents, the media, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), and other well-meaning Nigerians who had supported and mediated in the dispute.
However, ASUU cautioned that failure by the Federal Government to resolve outstanding issues within the one-month timeframe would compel the union to resume strike action without further notice.
“The struggle continues,” Piwuna declared, urging patriotic Nigerians to prevail on the government to honour its commitments and ensure industrial harmony as well as stability in the academic calendar.
