The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has suspended its ongoing two-week warning strike.
The decision was announced by the National President of ASUU, Prof. Chris Piwuna, during a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday.
Piwuna said the resolution followed the outcome of the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, which started on Tuesday and ended by 4:00 a.m. on Wednesday.
According to him, the union decided to review its action after what he described as “useful engagements” with representatives of the Federal Government on the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN–ASUU agreement.
“We’ve had useful engagements with representatives of the government to consider their response to the draft renegotiation of the 2009 agreements. However, we are definitely not where we were prior to the commencement of the strike,” Piwuna said.
He explained that while the union acknowledged that the government had returned to the negotiation table, more work still needs to be done to meet the union’s demands.
“NEC came to the conclusion that the ongoing strike should be reviewed. The decision to suspend the warning strike was a result of the efforts by our students, parents, and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC),” he added.
Piwuna said ASUU’s NEC resolved to suspend the strike in appreciation of the intervention of well-meaning Nigerians who urged both sides to return to dialogue.
The union had on Monday, October 13, declared a total and comprehensive two-week warning strike over what it described as government’s failure to address long-standing issues affecting the university system.
ASUU’s demands include the conclusion of the renegotiated 2009 FGN–ASUU agreement, release of withheld three and a half months’ salaries, and sustainable funding for public universities.
Other demands are the revitalisation of public universities, an end to the victimisation of lecturers in Lagos State University (LASU), Prince Abubakar Audu University, and the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO).
The union is also demanding the payment of outstanding 25–35% salary arrears, promotion arrears of over four years, and the release of withheld third-party deductions, including cooperative contributions and union check-off dues.
While the strike suspension offers temporary relief to students and parents, ASUU said it will continue to monitor the government’s actions closely before deciding on its next steps.
