ASUU strike warning from Owerri Zone raises alarm over unpaid salaries, promotion arrears, and unresolved issues in Nigeria’s public universities

ASUU strike warning has been issued by the Owerri Zone of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, citing persistent government inaction on critical issues affecting Nigeria’s public universities.

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At a press conference Thursday at the ASUU Secretariat in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Zonal Coordinator Dennis Aribodor expressed the union’s frustration over unresolved matters, including unpaid salaries, promotion arrears, and non-remittance of third-party deductions.

The Owerri Zone represents staff from five universities: Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Federal University of Technology Owerri, Imo State University, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, and Nnamdi Azikiwe University.

“Our union has repeatedly highlighted the unresolved renegotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement, unpaid three and a half months’ salaries, outstanding 25–35% salary arrears, and over four years of promotion arrears,” Aribodor said.

He warned that the union has exhausted all peaceful avenues of resolution, adding: “We’ve been patient. But that patience is now exhausted. If a strike becomes the only option left to us, we will not hesitate to take it.”

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ASUU urged civil society and education advocates to pressure both federal and state governments to address the deepening crisis in the country’s public universities, stressing the urgent need for revitalization funds and better funding for tertiary education.