The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has called off its two-week warning strike after reaching a temporary understanding with the Federal Government.
ASUU National President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, announced the suspension at a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, saying it would take effect from midnight, October 22, 2025.
Piwuna explained that the union decided to suspend the strike to give room for ongoing negotiations but warned that industrial action would resume immediately if the government failed to fulfil its promises within the next four weeks.
“The suspension is with effect from midnight today, but let it be clear that we will not hesitate to resume if the government fails to act within the agreed timeline,” he stated.
ASUU’s latest stance aligns with that of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), which earlier issued a four-week ultimatum to the Federal Government to resolve all pending issues with university unions.
Following a joint meeting with leaders of ASUU, SSANU, NASU, and NAAT, NLC President Joe Ajaero had warned that failure to conclude negotiations within the stipulated time would trigger a nationwide strike involving all workers and unions.
“We have decided to give the Federal Government four weeks to finalise all negotiations in the education sector,” Ajaero said. “If by then nothing is done, we will take nationwide action to ensure these issues are resolved once and for all.”
ASUU had embarked on the two-week “total and comprehensive” strike on October 13 after the expiration of a 14-day ultimatum. The union cited unresolved matters including unpaid salary arrears, poor infrastructure, staff welfare, and the non-implementation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement.
Reacting to the development, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, said the government had already made significant progress before the strike was declared. He revealed that N50 billion had been released for earned academic allowances, while another N150 billion was allocated in the 2025 budget for needs assessment projects to be disbursed in three instalments.
With the strike now suspended, academic activities are expected to resume across public universities, though the coming weeks will determine whether the fragile truce between ASUU and the government holds.