Dakwom Longgul reports

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has suspended its two-week warning strike with effect from midnight, Wednesday, October 22, 2025.

The decision, reached after an emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held on October 21st–22nd, 2025, follows renewed engagement with the Federal Government and intervention by the National Assembly.ASUU, however, has issued a one-month window to the Federal Government to conclude the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement and fully address other outstanding issues.

ASUU President, Professor Chris Piwuna, announced the suspension at a press conference at the Festus Iyayi National Secretariat Complex, University of Abuja, on Wednesday, October 22, 2025.Strike Objectives ‘Partly Achieved’The warning strike was initially declared on October 13, 2025, due to the government’s failure to respond to several overtures to address the lingering renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement and other issues concerning members’ welfare and the repositioning of public universities.

Professor Piwuna noted that while the union has not achieved the twin-objectives of concluding the renegotiation (which started in 2017) and fully addressing other lingering issues, it is “definitely not where we were prior to, and at the commencement of, the strike”. He stated that NEC concluded the objective of the warning strike had been “partly achieved”.Interventions and Negotiations

The union reported having “useful engagements” with government representatives in the last week. Specifically, the ASUU Team met with the Yayale Ahmed-led FGN Team on Thursday, October 16th, and Saturday, October 18th, 2025, to consider the government’s response to the Draft Renegotiated 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement.

The union acknowledged that the government has returned to the negotiating table—a “feat that was impossible for almost one year”.ASUU also highlighted the “swift intervention” and strong promises made by the Senate Committees on Tertiary Education and TETFund, and Labour, following engagements on Friday, October 19th, 2025, and a follow-up meeting with the Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin.Conditional Suspension

The decision to suspend the strike was borne out of respect for students, their parents, the media, the Nigeria Labour Congress, and other well-meaning Nigerians who have mediated.However, the union made it clear that “should government fail to resolve the issues within the one-month window, ASUU reserves the right to resume the strike action without further notice”.

The NEC hopes that the government will use this opportunity to “timeously resolve all the issues, in order to guarantee industrial harmony and ensure stability of our academic calendar”.

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ASUU SUSPENDS WARNING STRIKE, GIVES FG ONE-MONTH WINDOW TO CONCLUDE NEGOTIATIONS