The Federal Government has appealed to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to shelve its proposed nationwide warning strike, assuring that steps are being taken to address the union’s grievances.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, said progress was being made in negotiations with the union, adding that the government had reconstituted and inaugurated the Mahmud Yayale Ahmed Federal Government Tertiary Institutions Expanded Negotiation Committee to fast-track talks with both academic and non-academic unions in universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.
Alausa noted that President Bola Tinubu had directed that “all efforts must be made to avoid another disruption in the nation’s tertiary institutions.”
ASUU, however, has already begun full mobilisation of its members ahead of a possible warning strike, as its 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government expires on Sunday.
The decision to issue the ultimatum was reached at the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held on Sunday at the University of Abuja.
In a strike notice signed by its National President, Chris Piwuna, ASUU accused the government of neglecting the university system and ignoring its demands.
“Apart from engagement with the press, in August 2025, members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities in both federal and state universities held rallies, carrying placards, on their campuses to press the government to address the lingering issues in the university system.
“Nothing came out of all these rallies and pleas. What is clear for now is that both the federal and state governments have a strong habit of paying little or no attention to the education sector in general and the welfare of university academics in particular,” ASUU stated.
The union warned that if, at the end of the 14-day ultimatum, the Federal Government fails to meet its demands, it would embark on a two-week warning strike, followed by a total and indefinite strike.
