The Federal Government has appealed to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to suspend its proposed strike, assuring that it is ready to comprehensively resolve all lingering issues affecting the university system.
Minister of Education, Dr. Olatunji Alausa, made the appeal in Abuja during a news conference held ahead of the high-level meeting of the Federal Government/ASUU 2025 Proposed Agreement Committee.
Alausa said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed that the proposed strike be averted, reaffirming the President’s political will to bring an end to the long-standing crisis in the tertiary education sector.
“There is no basis for ASUU or any other staff union in tertiary institutions to embark on industrial action,” the Minister stressed. “The directive of the President is clear — strike must be averted for Nigerian children to be in school.”
Revisiting ASUU’s Demands
Recall that ASUU had issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to meet its demands or face industrial action. The decision followed its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held on September 28 at the University of Abuja.
Among the key demands are the renegotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement, sustainable funding and revitalisation of universities, and an end to the victimisation of members at Lagos State University (LASU), Kogi State University (now Prince Abubakar Audu University), and the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO).
Dr. Alausa explained that the ongoing meeting with ASUU was a technical session aimed at finalising the conditions of service for university workers and developing a counter-offer to the union’s proposal.
He revealed that by Thursday, the Yayale Ahmed-led Federal Government Tertiary Institutions Expanded Negotiation Committee would meet with ASUU’s leadership to present the government’s offer.
“The directive of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to us is that our children must be in school; that we should do everything humanly possible to avert a strike,” Alausa said.
“People at the highest level of government have been working several hours intensely to get a robust but affordable response back to our trade unions.”
The Minister added that unlike in the past where negotiations were done in silos, the new Expanded Negotiating Committee will address the concerns of all tertiary institutions — universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education — to ensure a coordinated and lasting solution.
Hope for a Holistic Resolution
Alausa noted that the expanded negotiation committee was inaugurated on Monday and had already begun work to produce a unified, clean copy of agreements for the government and unions to sign.
He urged ASUU and other unions not to see strike action as the first option, despite their patience over the years.
“We will resolve it in a holistic, comprehensive manner that is mutually respectful to the unions and affordable for the government,” he said.
The Minister disclosed that the government had already begun implementing some of the unions’ demands, including the release of ₦50 billion Earned Academic Allowance, the allocation of ₦150 billion in the 2025 budget for university revitalisation, and the inclusion of promotion arrears in the forthcoming 2026 budget.
With these steps, the government expressed optimism that both sides can reach a lasting understanding — one that keeps Nigeria’s universities open and its students where they belong: in the classroom.