The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has suspended its ongoing two-week warning strike following a marathon meeting of its National Executive Council (NEC), which ended early Wednesday morning in Abuja.
ASUU’s National President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, announced the suspension during a press briefing, noting that the decision was taken after reviewing progress made in discussions with the federal government.
He also said that the Federal Government was given one-month window to address its demands.
According to him, although the government has yet to fully meet the union’s demands, significant progress has been made compared to the situation before the strike began.
He further explained 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.
ASUU, however, warned that should the government fail to resolve the outstanding issues within the one-month window, the union would be left with no option but to resume strike action without further notice.
“We’ve had useful engagements with government representatives concerning the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement. While more work is still required, NEC resolved to suspend the warning strike in appreciation of the efforts made by students, parents, and the Nigeria Labour Congress,” Piwuna stated.
The two-week warning strike, which began on Monday, October 13, was initiated over the government’s failure to address key issues affecting public universities.
ASUU’s demands include the finalisation of the renegotiated 2009 FGN-ASUU agreement, payment of withheld three and a half months’ salaries, revitalisation funding for public universities, and an end to the alleged victimisation of lecturers at Lagos State University (LASU), Prince Abubakar Audu University, and the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO).
The union is also pushing for the payment of outstanding 25–35% salary arrears, promotion arrears spanning over four years, and the release of withheld third-party deductions such as cooperative contributions and union dues.
With the suspension of the strike, ASUU urged the government to sustain ongoing talks and fulfill its commitments to avoid a recurrence of industrial action.