Tinubu’s Government Begs ASUU To Suspend Planned Strike

President Bola Tinubu’s Government has asked the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to suspend its planned strike, assuring that it is committed to addressing the union’s outstanding demands.

Speaking at a news conference in Abuja on Wednesday, Minister of Education Tunji Alausa said the government is already reviewing ASUU’s requests and that negotiations are making progress.

He explained that the Mahmud Yayale Ahmed Federal Government Tertiary Institutions Expanded Negotiation Committee has been reconstituted and inaugurated to speed up talks with both academic and non-academic unions across universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.

Alausa added that President Bola Tinubu has directed that every effort be made to prevent another disruption in the country’s tertiary institutions.

ASUU, however, has begun mobilising its members in preparation for a nationwide warning strike, as its 14-day ultimatum to the government is set to expire on Sunday.

The union announced the strike plan after its National Executive Council meeting on Sunday at the University of Abuja.

In a notice signed by ASUU National President Chris Piwuna, the union criticized the neglect of universities and the government’s repeated failure to meet 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.

ASUU warned that if the government does not act by the end of the ultimatum, the union may begin with a two-week warning strike and could escalate to a full, indefinite strike.

KanyiDaily recalls that the ASUU had called on the Federal Government to prioritize paying university lecturers a living wage instead of a basic minimum wage.