The National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, has suspended today’s planned protest in Ondo State over the prolonged ASUU strike in state-owned universities, following an intervention by Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa.
In a statement issued after the mobilization by NANS JCC Ondo Axis and the Adekunle Ajasin University Students’ Union Government, NANS National President, Akinteye Babatunde Afeez, said he received a direct call from the Governor this morning.
According to Afeez, he told the Governor that students were “tired of sitting at home” and that there was “no reason why students in Ondo State should continue to lose valuable academic time to a prolonged strike.”
The Governor, he said, explained steps already taken by the administration and reaffirmed commitment to the agreement reached with ASUU. Aiyedatiwa informed the NANS president that he had directed all affected institutions to submit the financial implications of the new salary structure to the Ministry of Budget. The documents, the Governor said, have been forwarded to the House of Assembly for passage.
“He confirmed that all the institutions had submitted their proposed financial implications and that the documents had been forwarded to the Ministry,” Afeez stated. “He further assured me that the necessary processes, including the payment of the affected workers, would be completed on or before the next two weeks.”
On the strength of that assurance, Afeez said he directed NANS JCC Ondo and AAUA SUG executives to call off today’s protest and instead address the press, giving the government a two-week grace period to conclude paperwork, pay ASUU, and reopen schools.
Acknowledging students’ frustration, the NANS president said: “I know how badly you want to resume. I understand your frustration, your anger, and your disappointment… We are not leaving you alone to face this crisis.”
He defended the decision to suspend the protest, saying dialogue must be exhausted before confrontation. “I know some students are angry over this decision, but I strongly believe that we should not go to war when all avenues of dialogue have not yet been exhausted,” he said.
Afeez issued a firm warning: “If, for any reason, the strike is not called off within the next two weeks, I personally, alongside all structures of NANS, will relocate to Ondo State to lead the struggle. At that point, students should not listen to any further excuses from us — unless they have returned to school.”
He concluded: “Our patience is not weakness. Our dialogue is not surrender. But our commitment to the students remains absolute.”
The strike has kept students of state-owned tertiary institutions in Ondo out of class for weeks, prompting growing agitation across campuses
