THE Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) has suspended over two months old strike its members embarked upon following the failure of the Federal Government to implement the 2014 Needs Assessment report on the 70 public Colleges of Education in the country.

President of the union, Nuhu Ogirima who announced the suspension of the strike in Abuja at the end of the expanded National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the union on Tuesday, said the suspension followed reassurances from the government to meet some of the lecturers’ key demands.

He explained that the suspension was to enable the government to implement the terms of the agreement.

The union president said the NEC would reconvene in January 2019 to re-access government’s commitment to the implementation of the agreement noting that the union would not hesitate to recall its members to stay away from work if government reneges on the agreement.

According to him, the Federal Government has acknowledged the decay in Colleges of Education in the country and has agreed to implement the NEEDS assessment report.

Ogirima said the government has agreed to release a white paper tagged: Dual Mode’ to implement partially for some colleges to award degrees.

This was as he disclosed that government also promised to recall sacked lecturers of Ogun State Colleges of Education.

The ICIR recalls that the union had called on its members in October to prepare for a long-term strike after the Federal Government threatened them with no-work, no-payment rule.

“As we conclude the first phase of the national strike, we urge you all not to be distracted by the intimidation and threat posed by the government’s no-work-no-pay rule. The threat should rather strengthen our resolve that we have had enough of exploitative work. It is rather no pay, no work.

“So, we are braced up for a prolonged battle. If we refuse to stand for the colleges of education system now, we may not get it right again,” Ogirima urged COEASU members in October.

Meanwhile, members of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) who have been on strike since November 5,  over government’s failure to implement the Memorandum of Action (MoA) it signed with the union in 2017.