The leadership of the Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU) has said it would call off its industrial action if progress is made on key areas, including revitalisation fund, lecturers-earned allowances and funding of state universities.

This is coming as the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) yesterday threatened to begin strike in all federal universities, polytechnics and Colleges of Education when schools resume if nothing was done to address its grievances.

Against the background of the demand by the federal government for ASUU to call off its strike before resumption of the next phase of negotiations, ASUU President, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, said the union is ready for negotiations, but that the suspension of the strike would be dependent on how the federal government responses to its key demands.

He listed the demands to include earned academic allowances, revitalisation, presidential visitation panel to federal universities, and proliferation of universities by state governors.

Ogunyemi said the way forward is “that we should talk; the government should open a space for discussion, as we are ready to discuss and make concrete agreements on those issues we have raised; earned academic allowances, revitalisation, presidential visitation panel to federal universities, discuss the proliferation of universities by state governors and government issues in state universities, as establishment of universities has been turned into constituency projects.

“The final issue I will raise is about renegotiation which we have been on for more than three years, and a stop must be put to it. When you put all these five issues together, you will see that we had a genuine reason to go on strike, and if the government won’t put an end to it with prejudice to what we are doing to support the health sector, we will continue to do that.”