The Federal Government has appealed to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to shelve its planned strike, assuring that it is committed to addressing all outstanding demands raised by the union.
Addressing a news conference in Abuja on Wednesday, the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, said the Federal Government is already looking into the demands of the Union and progress is already being made in the ongoing negotiations between both parties.
The Minister explained that the Mahmud Yayale Ahmed Federal Government Tertiary Institutions Expanded Negotiation Committee had been reconstituted and inaugurated to fast-track talks with both academic and non-academic unions in universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.
He added that President Bola Tinubu had given clear directives that all efforts must be made to avoid another disruption in the nation’s tertiary institutions.
“Mr. President has directed that we should do everything humanly possible to avert the strike, and that’s what we’ve been working on behind the scenes,” Alausa said.
“People at the highest levels of government have been working several hours intensely to get a robust but affordable response back to our trade unions.
“These are issues that have existed for 10 to 15 years, but this President has given us the political will to resolve them once and for all,” he added.
ASUU has earlier issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to meet its seven-point demands or face industrial action. The decision was reached at the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held on September 28 at the University of Abuja.
The union’s demands include the re-negotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement, sustainable funding and revitalization of universities, an end to the victimization of ASUU members at Lagos State University (LASU), Kogi State University (now Prince Abubakar Audu University), and the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO).
Other demands are the payment of outstanding 25–35 per cent salary arrears, promotion arrears spanning over four years, and unresolved third-party deductions.
However, Dr. Alausa stated that the government has already addressed most of the issues raised by ASUU.
“Eighty per cent of their demands have been met, and only about 20 per cent remain outstanding,” he said, adding that the government remains committed to maintaining industrial harmony in the nation’s universities.
However, ASUU has already begun full mobilisation of its members in preparation for a possible nationwide warning strike, as its 14-day ultimatum is set to expire on Sunday.
The union announced the decision to embark on a 14-day warning strike following a National Executive Council meeting held on Sunday at the University of Abuja.
In a notice of strike action signed by the National president of ASUU, Chris Piwuna, the union decried the neglect of the university system and the government’s consistent refusal to heed to 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.
It, however, stated that if at the end of the 14-day ultimatum, the Federal Government fails to address these issues, the union may have no option but to, first, embark on a two-week warning strike and thereafter, a total and indefinite strike.