The Federal Government, through the Yayale Ahmed Renegotiation Committee, has scheduled meetings for Monday, November 24, and Tuesday, November 25, 2025, in a bid to forestall a looming strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
Following the government-led discussions, ASUU is expected to convene a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting to determine whether to proceed with industrial action. A source within the NEC, who spoke on condition of anonymity, suggested the government’s meetings could be “delay tactics” aimed at postponing the union’s response.
“They have convened a meeting for Monday and Tuesday. I believe it’s delay tactics. After their meeting, we will hold an NEC meeting to decide the next line of action,” the source said.
ASUU’s ultimatum expired on Saturday. On October 22, the union suspended its two-week warning strike, granting the government a one-month window to meet demands that include reviewing the 2009 ASUU–Federal Government agreement, payment of outstanding salaries and allowances, and disbursement of the university revitalisation fund. The union warned it would resume strike action without notice if its demands were not addressed.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, has maintained that the government has fulfilled the union’s demands. Speaking to State House correspondents two weeks ago, he reiterated President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive that public universities remain open and assured that negotiations were ongoing to keep students in school.
Dr. Alausa said, “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. We’re talking to them; we’ve met literally all their requirements. Now we’ve gone back to the negotiation table… We will resolve this, and part of my visit here yesterday was also to explain where we are with the ASUU strike to Mr. President and to extract more concessions from him.”
With talks set to begin this week, all eyes are on the outcome of the meetings, which could determine whether students return to classrooms uninterrupted or face renewed disruption.
