The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) will hold a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting on Wednesday to determine whether to declare a nationwide strike, following the conclusion of its renegotiation sessions with the Federal Government.
The talks, chaired by the Yayale Ahmed committee, resumed in Abuja on Monday as part of last-minute efforts to prevent the shutdown of public universities. The meeting is scheduled to formally end today (Tuesday), after which ASUU’s NEC will convene to review the outcomes and decide on the union’s next line of action.
A senior ASUU NEC member, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on media interaction during the negotiation process, confirmed the timeline.
According to him, the union will “determine its next steps” once the committee submits its final report.
Tension has grown across public campuses after ASUU’s one-month ultimatum to the Federal Government elapsed on Saturday. The union has repeatedly criticised what it describes as the government’s nonchalant attitude toward issues affecting the university system.
Its long-standing demands include the full renegotiation of the 2009 FG–ASUU agreement, payment of outstanding salaries and earned allowances, and the release of revitalisation funds needed to address decades of infrastructural decay. ASUU also insists that several government policies currently in place undermine university autonomy.
Despite these concerns, the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, had maintained two weeks ago that the government had met nearly all the union’s requirements.
He noted that President Bola Tinubu had issued a clear directive that no strike should occur in public universities, stressing that the administration was “doing everything humanly possible” to keep students in school while negotiations continued.
The current standoff is the culmination of weeks of growing frustration within the tertiary education sector. On 16 November, reports indicated that ASUU was preparing for a nationwide shutdown after earlier negotiations stalled.
Three days later, the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities expressed dissatisfaction after its own ultimatum to the government expired without progress, fuelling fears of a broader industrial crisis on campuses.
On 21 November, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) cautioned that students should not become “collateral damage” in the dispute, urging both sides to prioritise meaningful dialogue over confrontation.
This followed earlier criticism in October from former University of Ibadan Vice-Chancellor, Professor Idowu Olayinka, who argued that the cycle of government committees meeting ASUU without clear implementation had become unsustainable and had failed to provide lasting solutions.
With negotiations extended into this week, ASUU on Tuesday reassured members via its official channels that an update would be issued immediately after NEC concludes its deliberations. The statement urged academic staff to remain alert and united.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Labour Congress has pledged its full support for ASUU, warning that it will stand “shoulder to shoulder with the academic community” if the government fails to honour its commitments.
