ASUU suspends warning strike, gives govt one-month ultimatum

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has suspended its two-week warning strike, giving the Federal Government a one-month deadline to finalize negotiations on the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement and resolve other pending issues.

ASUU President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, announced the decision in Abuja on Wednesday, stating that the suspension followed productive discussions with the government and mediation efforts by the National Assembly.

Prof. Piwuna recalled that the union was forced to declare the strike on October 13, 2025, after the government repeatedly ignored its appeals to address the stalled agreement and the welfare of university lecturers.

“While we have not achieved all our objectives, we are certainly not where we were before the strike began,” Piwuna stated.

He emphasized that the industrial action had successfully pushed the government back to the negotiation table, a move that could have prevented the strike altogether had it happened earlier.

The union’s National Executive Council (NEC), after an emergency meeting, concluded that the warning strike had served its primary purpose. In consideration for students, parents, and other stakeholders who had intervened, the NEC resolved to suspend the strike to create a conducive environment for further talks.

However, ASUU issued a stern warning: if the government fails to resolve the outstanding issues within the one-month grace period, the union will resume strike action without any further notice.

“The struggle continues,” Piwuna declared, urging patriotic Nigerians to pressure the government to honor its commitments for the sake of industrial harmony and a stable academic calendar.

About The Author

Dele Fashomi

Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.

Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.

Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).

He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.

He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.

Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled:  Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.

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