October 22, 2025
The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has suspended its two-week warning strike and gave the Federal Government one-month window to conclude the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement and address other unresolved issues affecting the nation’s university education system.
ASUU President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, announced this on Wednesday at a press briefing in Abuja, he explained that the suspension of the warning strike was as a result of fruitful engagements with the Federal Government and interventions by National Assembly.
Piwuna noted that ASUU had declared the warning strike on October 13, 2025, after the failure of the federal government to respond to several appeals to address the lingering renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement and other welfare-related concerns of university lecturers.
READ MORE; ASUU Strike: NLC Gives FG 4 Weeks To Resolve Issues, Threaten To Go On Solidarity Strike.
“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.”
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.
He said although the meetings did not fully resolve all issues, the union recognised that significant progress had been made compared to the pre-strike period.
READ MORE; NANS Gives FG, ASUU Seven Days To Resolve Disagreement
“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.”
ASUU president 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, had rekindled hope for a lasting resolution.
He explained that after an emergency meeting of National Executive Council (NEC) of ASUU, which held from October 21–22, 2025, they reviewed the situation and concluded that the warning strike had achieved part of its purpose, 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 declared.
READ MORE; ASUU Issues 14-day Ultimatum To FG Over Unresolved Seven-Point Demands
He stated 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.
The union, however, warned that should the government fail to resolve the outstanding issues within the giving one-month window, ASUU would be left with no option than to resume strike action without further notice.
Piwuna, called on all concerned to prevail on the federal government to honour its agreements to guarantee industrial harmony and ensure the academic calendar runs smoothly.
