The Federal Government has scheduled fresh negotiation meetings with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) for Monday and Tuesday as pressure mounts to prevent another shutdown of public universities.

The move comes after ASUU’s one-month ultimatum to the government expired on Saturday.

The union had suspended its two-week warning strike on October 22, giving the government a 30-day window to implement key demands, including the review of the 2009 ASUU–Federal Government agreement, payment of outstanding salaries and earned allowances, and release of the university revitalisation fund.

A highly placed member of ASUU’s National Executive Council (NEC), who spoke to Press on condition of anonymity, accused the government of “delay tactics,” noting that the union had expected to take action on Friday but held back to await the outcome of the scheduled meetings.

“They have convened a meeting for Monday and Tuesday. I believe it’s a delay tactic. 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 NEC member said.

ASUU’s leadership is expected to convene a National Executive Council meeting after the government’s engagements to determine whether or not to proceed with industrial action.

Meanwhile, Tunji Alausa, Minister of Education, has insisted that the government has met the union’s demands. He affirmed President Bola Tinubu’s directive that there must be no further disruptions in the academic calendar.

“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,” the minister stated.

Despite the government’s assurances, anxiety remains high across public universities, with students and stakeholders watching closely to see whether the renewed negotiations will avert a fresh nationwide strike.