The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has suspended its ongoing two-week warning strike following an overnight meeting of its National Executive Council (NEC) that concluded early Wednesday morning.
ASUU’s National President, Prof Chris Piwuna, announced the decision during a press briefing in Abuja, saying the move was taken after reviewing the government’s latest response to the union’s long-standing demands.
According to him, the NEC meeting, which began on Tuesday night and ended at about 4:00 am on Wednesday, resolved to call off the strike in recognition of efforts by students, parents, and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to mediate between the union and the Federal Government.
"We’ve had useful engagements with representatives of the government to consider the response to the draft renegotiation of the 2009 agreements. However, we are definitely not where we were prior to the commencement of the strike.
"The union acknowledged that the government returned to the negotiation table. While noting that a lot more work is still required, NEC came to the conclusion that the ongoing strike should be reviewed. The decision to review the strike action was a result of efforts by our students, parents, and the Nigeria Labour Congress.
"Consequently, NEC resolved to suspend the warning strike to reciprocate the efforts of well-meaning Nigerians," he said.
ASUU had on October 13 declared a total and comprehensive warning strike over what it described as the government’s failure to fulfil key agreements reached in previous negotiations.
The union’s demands include the conclusion of the renegotiated 2009 FGN-ASUU agreement, payment of withheld three and a half months’ salaries, revitalisation and sustainable funding of public universities, and an end to the alleged victimisation of its members at Lagos State University (LASU), Prince Abubakar Audu University, and the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO).
Other grievances listed by the union include the payment of outstanding 25–35 per cent salary arrears, promotion arrears spanning over four years, and the release of withheld third-party deductions such as cooperative contributions and union check-off dues.
With the suspension of the strike, ASUU said it expects the government to expedite actions toward resolving the remaining issues to prevent another industrial dispute.
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