Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) members of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU), and Abia State University, Uturu (ABSU), on Tuesday staged protests against what they described as years of neglect and inhuman treatment by the Federal Government.
At MOUAU, the protest was led by the branch chairman, Professor Michael Ugwuene, alongside other senior academics. The lecturers decried the government’s refusal to implement the renegotiated 2009 agreement, lamenting that they had been stuck on the same salary scale for 15 years.
“Our professors are not earning more than ₦500,000 monthly, and we are still owed three and a half years’ salary arrears, even after graduating students,” Ugwuene said. He warned that the nationwide protest was the final ultimatum before an indefinite strike.
Supporting the position, Professors Uzochukwu Onyebinama and Marbel Ifeoma Onwuka stressed that unless urgent action is taken, ASUU would have no choice but to down tools. They also dismissed the Federal Government’s Tertiary Institution Staff Support Fund (TISSF) loan scheme as “another big scam.”
At ABSU, the branch chairman, Dr. Chidi Mba, told journalists that the protest was part of simultaneous demonstrations across the country. He explained that the unresolved issues include arrears of salaries, revitalisation funds for universities, and the long-standing 2009 agreement.
Mba accused the government of insensitivity to the welfare of lecturers and the decay in public universities, noting that academic staff remain on static salaries while their counterparts in other sectors enjoy periodic increases.
“We have written countless letters reminding the government of its obligations, but all appeals have been ignored,” he said. “This rally is a warning. If we embark on strike, no one should hold ASUU responsible—we have done the needful since 2009.”
Students at both universities, who witnessed the protests, pleaded with the Federal Government to meet ASUU’s demands to avert another nationwide strike that could disrupt the academic calendar.
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