The Federal Government has scheduled fresh meetings with the Yayale Ahmed Renegotiation Committee for Monday, November 24, and Tuesday, November 25, 2025, in an effort to prevent a nationwide strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities.
The Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU) National Executive Council is expected to meet afterward, where members will decide whether the union will proceed with industrial action. A senior NEC member, who spoke anonymously, accused the government of stalling.
“They have convened a meeting for Monday and Tuesday. I believe it’s delay tactics. They are trying to delay us from taking action. After their meeting, we will hold a NEC meeting to decide the next line of action,” the official said.
The union’s one-month ultimatum, issued after it suspended a two-week warning strike on October 22, elapsed on Saturday. During that period, ASUU insisted the Federal Government must show concrete commitment to addressing longstanding issues, including the review of the 2009 ASUU–FG agreement, unpaid salaries and earned allowances, and the release of revitalisation funds for universities. The union had warned it could resume its strike “without prior notice” if the government failed to act.
However, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, maintains that the administration has met the key demands. Addressing State House correspondents two weeks earlier, he reaffirmed President Bola Tinubu’s directive that universities must not go back on strike.
“As I told you, the President has said that he doesn’t want ASUU to go on strike, and we’re doing everything humanly possible to ensure that our students stay in school. The last strike they went on for about six days was not really needed,” Alausa said.
He added that discussions with the union were still active. “We’re talking to them; we’ve met literally all their requirements. Now we’ve gone back to the negotiation table. We’re talking—as I spoke to the leadership this morning.
“We will resolve this, and part of my visit today here is to also explain where we are with the ASUU strike to Mr. President and to extract more concessions from Mr. President,” he said.
