The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has begun a crucial two-day meeting with the Federal Government, a dialogue that will determine whether the union proceeds with its suspended industrial action.
ASUU President, Prof. Christopher Piwuna, confirmed the development on Monday while speaking with journalists at the 2025 Harmattan School organised by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). He emphasised that the union’s commitment to safeguarding Nigeria’s university system remains steadfast.
“Our commitment to prioritise education in Nigeria is unshakable. We will continue to defend this sector, no matter the pressure,” he said.
Piwuna criticised the Federal Ministry of Education for repeatedly claiming that most of ASUU’s demands had been addressed, noting that government officials have now subtly adjusted their rhetoric.
“We’ve always been unhappy when the ministry says they have met all our demands. I can see the grammar is changing a bit now. It’s now ‘almost all the demands.’ But clearly, there are still issues—particularly the 2009 agreement—which is why we’re meeting this afternoon,” he stated.
Clarifying widespread speculation, the ASUU president said the union did not announce any strike for Friday. Rather, the date referenced the expiration of an earlier ultimatum.
“No branch or zone said a strike will start on Friday. They were referring to the expiration of the ultimatum we had given the government,” he explained. “If this meeting had taken place last week and failed, then what would have happened on Friday would be clear to Nigerians. But since the meeting is holding today (Monday) and tomorrow (Tuesday), we hope to return to our members before the weekend.”
Piwuna warned that if the ongoing talks collapse, the union will revert to its members for further directives. “If the meeting fails, we will report back to our members, and they will tell us what to do. And we’ll do exactly what they ask us to do,” he said.
The outcome of the negotiations is expected to shape the next phase of ASUU’s engagement with the Federal Government—and potentially the academic calendar across public universities.