The Nasarawa State Government has called on lecturers in state-owned tertiary institutions to suspend their ongoing strike to allow negotiations to continue and resolve the current impasse.
Members of the Joint Unions of Nasarawa State Tertiary Institutions, declared an indefinite strike on December 29, 2025, citing the government’s alleged failure to fully implement the New National Minimum Wage as previously agreed.
Speaking at a bi-monthly press briefing in Lafia on Friday, Peter Ahemba, Senior Special Assistant to Governor Abdullahi Sule on Public Affairs, urged the lecturers to reconsider their industrial action in the interest of students and the wider education sector.
“We are already in January, and schools are expected to resume academic activities, yet we are faced with this strike. This situation is capable of affecting our children,” Ahemba said.
He added, “I want to appeal to them to suspend the strike and allow room for further negotiations.”
The strike was announced by JUNSTI Chairman Samson Kale Gbande after consultations with union leaders from Isa Mustapha Agwai I Polytechnic, Lafia; College of Agriculture, Science and Technology, Lafia; and the College of Education, Akwanga.
Gbande explained that the strike became necessary due to delays in implementing agreed salary adjustments, which he said have adversely affected workers’ morale, productivity, and stability in the education sector.
“We have engaged the state government several times, through meetings held at the Deputy Governor’s office on August 6, October 23, December 3, and December 15, 2025, and were assured that implementation of the New National Minimum Wage would begin in November 2025,” Gbande said.
“Regrettably, despite our patience for over a year, these assurances have not been translated into action.”
The state government has emphasized its commitment to continued dialogue with the unions, urging a suspension of the strike to enable negotiations and ensure minimal disruption to academic activities.
