Mary Onuigbo, Awka
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has warned of an imminent nationwide industrial action if the federal and state governments fail to address longstanding issues affecting public universities, including the immediate payment of withheld salaries and the implementation of past agreements.
Rising from a press briefing in Awka, the ASUU Owerri Zone – comprising Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU), Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO), Imo State University (IMSU), Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike (MOUAU), and Nnamdi Azikiwe University (NAU), Awka, issued a stern ultimatum to the government, calling for urgent intervention to avert another shutdown of the university system.
Zone Coordinator, Professor Dennis Aribodor, has called on the federal government to honour the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement and warned that continued disregard for their demands would inevitably lead to a nationwide strike.
“We wish to inform the public of an imminent industrial crisis in public universities across the country due to the persistent insincerity of government in addressing lingering issues,” Aribodor said.
Unresolved Demands
ASUU listed its key demands as:
Immediate payment of the withheld three-and-a-half months’ salaries following the 2022 strike.
Payment of over four years’ promotion arrears.
Remittance of outstanding third-party deductions (including cooperative and union dues).
Conclusion and signing of the renegotiated 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement.
Release of revitalisation funds as recommended by the 2012 Needs Assessment Committee.
Sustainable funding of public universities.
Immediate removal of Imo State University from the Treasury Single Account (TSA).
Professor Aribodor emphasized that the 2022 industrial action was a result of government’s failure to fulfil numerous Memoranda of Understanding and Action previously signed with the union.
“You cannot beat a child and ask him not to cry,” he stated. “The government chose to punish lecturers for going on a legitimate strike by withholding their salaries. Yet, it was the government’s breach of agreement that caused the strike in the first place.”
He added that the failure to remit third-party deductions amounted to a criminal offence, and that the value of the withheld salaries had significantly depreciated, worsening the economic condition of university lecturers.
The union also decried the deteriorating state of public universities, blaming inadequate funding, poor infrastructure, and broken promises. Aribodor lamented that no Nigerian university featured among the world’s top 1,000, describing it as a national embarrassment.
“Is it not a shame that no Nigerian public university made the top 1,000 universities in the world, while institutions from smaller African countries did?” he asked.
He further criticized the current budgetary allocation to education, which he said hovers around 8% , well below the 26% recommended by UNESCO and the 15% promised in the APC’s manifesto.
Professor Aribodor reiterated that ASUU has exhausted all peaceful options and engaged in dialogue with the government at various levels to avoid further disruption of academic activities. However, he warned that the union would have no choice but to embark on another strike if the issues remain unresolved.
“We plead with all well-meaning Nigerians to intervene. We’ve been patient, but our patience is wearing thin,” he said, noting that the final decision on strike action rests with the national leadership of ASUU.
The press conference comes just 48 hours after ASUU members staged nationwide protests over welfare-related grievances, signalling growing discontent and a potentially turbulent start to the next academic calendar.
