ASUU begins strike over unpaid allowances

Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Akwa Ibom State University branch, has commenced an indefinite strike following prolonged dispute in salaries, allowances and payment of the N80,000 minimum wage.

The ASUU chairman Akwa Ibom State University chapter, Dr. Frank Namso, disclosed this while briefing newsmen at Obio Akpa Campus of the University on Tuesday.

He said prior to the commencement of the strike, the union had made frantic efforts to reach out to the institution’s management and the state government on several occasions, but such efforts have yielded no positive results.

Namso said the congress had unanimously agreed to embark on an indefinite strike from midnight on Wednesday, June 4, 2025, pending when the issues are addressed.

He said the move is in line with “the resolution of ASUU at the recently concluded national delegates conference, which mandated any of its branches to embark on industrial action if their salaries are not paid by the 3rd of a new month.”

According to him, the issues in contention include non-payment of Domestic Servant and Drivers Allowance, non-payment of N80,000 minimum wage and arrears and inadequate allocation of percentages to peculiar allowances.

Others include fraudulent payment of N2,000 for hazard allowance, non-implementation of 35% and 25% wage award, delay and national promotions payment, as well as non-payment for Post-Graduate Lectures/Supervision.

The chairman lamented that the academic staff of the varsity have been denied domestic staff and driver’s allowances for 13 years, while the non-teaching staff have enjoyed the aforementioned benefit, a situation the union described as “disheartening” and requires a comprehensive review.

Highlighting the challenges faced by academic staff of the institution, the chairman noted that lecturer’s in other state owned institutions (Akwa Ibom State Polytechnic, Akwa Ibom State College of Education and Akwa Ibom State College of Arts and Science, Nung Ukim) have been enjoying domestic staff and driver’s allowances for more than a decade.