The union organizing the industrial action warned, however, that issues over an increase in pay and better funding for the education sector had still not been resolved.

Nigerian public university lecturers have suspended a strike over pay. It brings to an end, at least for now, eight months of educational turmoil in the country.

Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) President Emmanuel Osodeke asked teachers to return to work on Friday but added that the issues that brought about the strike had still not been "satisfactorily addressed."

"In deference to appeals by the president ... and other well-meaning Nigerians, ASUU ... resolved to suspend the strike action embarked upon on February 14," Osodeke said in a statement.

What brought about the strike?

ASUU has been demanding an increase in pay and allowances and better funding for the country's education sector.

The government had asked lecturers to go back to work while negotiations continue.

University strikes are not uncommon in the West African nation but the latest is one of the longest Nigeria has experienced in many years.

It disrupted learning in almost all of the country's more than 100 public universities, affecting some 2.5 million students.

Most lecturers in Nigerian universities are members of the academic staff union, which meant no replacement teachers could be found to cover classes in their absence.

jsi/rt (AP, Reuters)