The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has suspended its two-week warning strike following fresh interventions by the Senate and the Federal Government, but warned it would resume the action without notice if promises are not kept within a month.
ASUU President, Prof Chris Piwuna, announced the suspension at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, citing renewed commitments from the Deputy Senate President and the Yayale Ahmed-led committee as reasons for the decision.
Piwuna said the Union was giving the government a one-month grace period to act on its key demands, which include the review of the 2009 ASUU-Federal Government Agreement, payment of outstanding salaries and earned allowances, and release of university revitalisation funds.
“We have suspended our strike in the interest of progress, but this is not a victory for government complacency. If after one month no tangible steps are taken, we shall resume our action immediately,” Piwuna stated.
ASUU had declared the strike on October 12 after a 14-day ultimatum expired, accusing the government of neglecting agreements on staff welfare, infrastructure development, and salary arrears.
In response, the Federal Government faulted the strike and directed universities to implement a “No Work, No Pay” policy. The Ministry of Education also instructed vice-chancellors to take roll calls and submit reports on lecturers who reported for duty during the strike.
The Senate, alarmed by the stalemate, intervened last week through its Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund, led by Senator Aliyu Dandutse. After a closed-door meeting with ASUU leaders, the committee described the situation as “unacceptable” and promised to lead a new round of negotiations involving the Ministry of Education and the National Universities Commission (NUC).
The temporary suspension raises cautious optimism that dialogue may finally yield results in the long-running conflict that has disrupted academic calendars and undermined stability in Nigeria’s university system.
