Don’t embark on strike – Abia varsity appeals to ASUU members

The management of Abia State University, Uturu, has urged members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, to shelve their planned industrial action.

ASUU members had recently threatened to go on strike over 11 months of salary arrears owed to them by the school.

However, the university management, in a press release signed by the Registrar, Acho Elendu, said going on strike is not the best action for the lecturers as it would affect the current academic calendar.

The university, which said it does not owe the ASUU members, stressed that it had been paying their salaries regularly since the present management took charge, adding that the Abia State Government has also been regular in the release of monthly subventions.

According to Acho Elendu, Abia State University is “Technically not owing any staff salaries.”

He, however, admitted that the present ABSU management inherited 10 months of salary arrears from the school’s previous administration and cleared five months of the inherited arrears with further plans to liquidate the outstanding.

The school said that ASUU members disobeyed the university’s advice by joining the 2022 8-month strike, saying their participation truncated the already planned salary arrears clearance.

It further appealed to the lecturers to engage in dialogue and consider the interests of students and the university in general by jettisoning the planned strike.

But one of the lecturers, who simply identified himself as Bro Kalu, said the university management should pay their salary arrears and should stop the blame game.