ASUU Suspends Warning Strike , Gives FG One Month To Meet Demands

By Akinboyo Similoluwa

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has called off the two-week warning strike it declared last week across all public universities in the country .

The decision to call off the industrial action was announced on Wednesday, October 22, during a press conference held at the union’s national headquarters in Abuja.

Prof. Chris Piwuna , the ASUU president , said the decision was made after interventions from the senate and other well-meaning Nigerians .

He stated that the National Executive Council (NEC) of the union has decided to give the federal government a “one-month” window to resolve all outstanding issues.

“We have decided to give the government the window to show sincerity and commitment to resolving all outstanding issues, ” he said.

“We expect concrete results within the next one month.”

ASUU embarked on a warning strike on October 13 to press home its demands, which include the conclusion of the renegotiated 2009 FGN-ASUU agreement, and the release of its withheld three months’ salaries .

Others are the revitalisation of public universities and an end to the alleged victimisation of lecturers in the Lagos State university, Prince Abubakar Audu University, and the Federal University of Technology, Owerri.

Piwuna stressed that the decision to suspend the strike was not an end in itself but a demonstration of goodwill on their part.

He added that ASUU remains committed to defending the integrity of the nation’s public universities and will not hesitate to revert to the strike if the government fails to act within the agreed one-month timeframe.