The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has announced the suspension of its 10-day-old warning strike, four days before the two-week deadline was set to expire.
The announcement was made on Wednesday morning during an emergency press briefing addressed by the union’s National President, Chris Piwuna, a professor.
According to the union, the latest decision was in response to the interventions by eminent Nigerians, including the Committees of the Senate on Tertiary Education and TETFund, and Labour, among others.
ASUU also noted that the renegotiation committee led by the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Yayale Ahmed, has appealed to the union to return to work to enable a harmonious relationship between the union and the government while the renegotiation continues.
It also added that the decision followed the resolutions passed across various campuses nationwide by the union members during emergency congresses held recently.
The union, however, gave a grace of one month for the government to address or the issues, failure of which it noted an appropriate action would be taken.
Backstory
ASUU had embarked on a 14-day warning strike beginning from Monday, 13 October, over unresolved issues of the 2009 FGN-ASUU agreement, mainstreaming of earned academic allowance, non-remittance of third-party deductions of its members, among other issues.
It also accused the government of insincerity over the unending conversations on the renegotiation of the agreement since 2017, saying the successive administrations had taken the union’s maturity and understanding for granted.
However, following the declaration of the industrial action, the Minister of Education, Mr ALausa, a medical doctor, accused ASUU of not cooperating with the government, saying his genuine commitment to addressing the lingering issue was being taken for granted.
The minister, therefore, threatened the invocation of the “no work, no pay” rule, even as he ordered the vice-chancellors of public universities to mark attendance of academic staff who resumed work during the strike.
Why we suspended strike
The speech by ASUU President, Mr Piwuna, a consultant psychiatrist, is reproduced below:
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen of the press.
You are welcome to this Press briefing, which has been called to update you on developments in respect of the warning strike declared by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on the 13th of October, 2025.
First, I apologise for the short notice we gave for this event and thank you immensely for your usual attendance, which is not taken for granted.
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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. This was because the government would not respond to several overtures to make the government address the lingering renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement and other issues bordering on the welfare of our members and repositioning of Nigerian public universities to make them deliver on their mandate. As responsible citizens, we were (are still) convinced that it was the most expedient thing to do, in order to save our university system from imminent collapse; a cause we have championed for more than three decades.
As you are aware, the Federal Government responded to our declaration of a warning strike with threats of salary denial and directives to Vice-Chancellors on ways to make the union’s action ineffectual (ineffective). However, we can report that ASUU has had useful engagements with representatives and agents of government in the last one week. The ASUU Team met on Thursday, 16th, and Saturday, 18th October, 2025, respectively, with the Yayale Ahmed-led FGN Team to consider the government’s response to the Draft Renegotiated 2009 FGN/ ASUU Agreement. Another date was also fixed for the next round of deliberations by the two teams at the last meeting. We certainly have not achieved the twin objectives of concluding the renegotiation, which started way back in 2017, and fully addressing other lingering issues. However, we are definitely not where we were before, and at the commencement of, the strike. This poignantly shows that, had the government positively responded to the union’s earlier notices and appeals, there would have been no need for the strike in the first place.
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ASUU must place on record the swift intervention of the Senate Committees on Tertiary Education and TETFund, and Labour, led by their respective Chairmen. The union’s engagements with the two committees on Friday, 19th October, 2025, and a follow-up meeting with the Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin, same day, appeared promising in amicably resolving all the outstanding issues. Our members place a lot of hope on the strong promises made by these Distinguished Senators. We look forward to working with them to fully deliver on their promises.
Compatriots of the Press, the union acknowledges that the government has returned to the negotiating table – a feat that was impossible for almost one year. All issues related to this development have been faithfully reported to ASUU members nationwide and were comprehensively interrogated at an emergency meeting of the National Executive Council (NEC) of our union held on 21st-22nd October, 2025. While noting that a lot of more work is still required, NEC came to the conclusion that the objective of the warning strike had been partly achieved. Hence, it was decided that the ongoing strike be reviewed to allow for a conducive atmosphere for further engagements between the two parties.
The decision to review the action was borne out of respect for our students and their parents, the media, Nigeria Labour Congress and other well-meaning Nigerians who have mediated in the last ten days and have continued to do so. We owe them a great debt of gratitude for their understanding, resilience and demonstration of solidarity.
Consequently, NEC resolved to suspend the warning strike to reciprocate the overwhelming support of Nigerians. In addition, NEC resolved that a one-month window should be given to the government to conclude the ongoing renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU and fully address other outstanding issues. NEC hopes that the government would take advantage of this opportunity to timeously resolve all the issues, in order to guarantee industrial harmony and ensure stability of our academic calendar as it has always promised.
In summary, the emergency NEC meeting resolved that: the warning strike is hereby suspended with effect from midnight, Wednesday, the 22nd of October 2025; should government fail to resolve the issues within the one-month window, ASUU reserves the right to resume the strike action without further notice; and
ASUU appeals to patriotic Nigerians and stakeholders in education to prevail on government to speedily conclude the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement and other outstanding issues.
The struggle continues!
Thank you.
Chris Piwuna, ASUU PresidentDevReporting
