ASUU Strike Deadline Ends today as the NLC Prepares to Meet.

The Nigeria Labour Congress has announced that its leadership will meet to determine the next steps as the ultimatum it issued to the Federal Government over the looming industrial action in public tertiary institutions expires today.

The acting Secretary-General of the NLC, Benson Upah, confirmed this during an interview in Abuja on Friday.

The NLC, after meeting with unions in the tertiary education sector, had given the Federal Government a one-month deadline to resolve the persistent issues affecting universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.

NLC President, Joe Ajaero, explained after the meeting that the government was given four weeks to conclude all negotiations across the sector, noting that the challenges extended beyond ASUU alone. He stressed that the era of signing agreements without implementation was over.

With the ultimatum now expired, Upah reaffirmed the Congress’ commitment to maintaining stability in tertiary institutions, stating that relevant organs of the NLC would meet and decide on the next line of action.

Meanwhile, the National Association of Nigerian Students has called on the Federal Government to take urgent and lasting steps to prevent an interruption of academic activities in public universities.

The Assistant Secretary-General of NANS, Adejuwon Olatunji-Emmanuel, urged the government to address the concerns raised by ASUU, warning that any strike would negatively affect millions of students. He noted that since the start of the current administration, students had enjoyed a stable academic calendar a level of consistency not experienced since 1999 and said this progress must be protected.

Olatunji-Emmanuel further appealed for constructive dialogue and swift resolutions to ensure campuses remain open.

ASUU had suspended its two-week warning strike on October 22 and issued a one-month deadline for the Federal Government to meet its demands. The deadline expired on Friday.
The union’s demands include a review of the 2009 ASUU–Federal Government agreement, payment of outstanding salaries and earned allowances, and release of the university revitalisation fund. ASUU warned it would resume strike action without notice if meaningful progress was not made.

However, Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, recently insisted that the government had met the union’s demands, adding that the President had directed that no strike should occur in public universities. He noted that negotiations were ongoing and that efforts were being made to ensure students remain in school.