The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has suspended its two-week warning strike, giving the Federal Government a one-month window to conclude the ongoing renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement and address other lingering issues affecting the university system.
This was announced on Wednesday, 22nd October 2025, at a press conference held at the Festus Iyayi National Secretariat, University of Abuja, after an emergency meeting of the union’s National Executive Council (NEC).
Speaking at the briefing, ASUU President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, said the decision to suspend the strike was taken “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.”
Piwuna explained that the warning strike, which began on 13th October 2025, became necessary after the government failed to respond to several appeals to address issues related to the lingering renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement and the welfare of members.
“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,” he said.
He added that although the Federal Government initially responded to the strike declaration “with threats of salary denial and directives to Vice-Chancellors on ways to make the union’s action ineffectual,” meaningful engagements were later held between ASUU and government representatives.
According to him, ASUU met with the Yayale Ahmed-led FGN Team on 16th and 18th October 2025 to consider the government’s response to the Draft Renegotiated 2009 Agreement, with further meetings already scheduled. The union also acknowledged the intervention of the Senate Committees on Tertiary Education and TETFund, and Labour, led by their respective chairmen, describing their mediation as “promising in amicably resolving all the outstanding issues.”
Piwuna said the NEC, after reviewing developments at its emergency meeting held on 21st and 22nd October, concluded 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,” he stated.
He expressed optimism that the government would seize the opportunity to resolve all pending matters, noting that “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, ASUU 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.”
Piwuna ended the press statement on a firm note, declaring, “The struggle continues!”
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