(ASUU. Photo by Leadership News)
The Academic Staff Union of Universities, Owerri Zone, on Monday gave the governors of Anambra and Imo states a 14-day ultimatum to implement the 2025 Federal Government/ASUU Agreement or face an indefinite strike in two state-owned universities.
The union warned that academic activities would be shut down at the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Igbariam, and Imo State University if Governors Chukwuma Soludo and Hope Uzodinma failed to implement the agreement.
Addressing journalists at the ASUU Conference Hall of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, the Owerri Zonal Coordinator, Dennis Aribodor, lamented that more than five months after implementation of the agreement began nationwide, the two state-owned universities had yet to comply.
Aribodor said the union had exhausted all avenues of engagement with the governments of the affected states, adding that both universities submitted the 2025 FG-ASUU Agreement to their administrations in February 2026, in line with a directive of the union’s National Executive Council.
He said the National Universities Commission had also communicated the agreement to the governors, who are Visitors to the universities, as well as their vice-chancellors.
According to him, the agreement addresses issues including salary deficits, infrastructure development and staff welfare.
He explained that more than five months after the commencement of implementation of the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement, ASUU Owerri Zone regretted to alert the public and critical stakeholders that the agreement had yet to be implemented in the state-owned universities under its coverage.
He noted that the Owerri zone comprises Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Igbariam in Anambra State; Federal University of Technology, Owerri in Imo State; Michael Okpara University, Umudike, in Abia State; and Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, in Anambra State, with the two affected state universities being COOU, owned by the Anambra State Government, and IMSU, owned by the Imo State Government.
He said the branches in both COOU and IMSU, in obedience to the directive of the National Executive Council of ASUU, had submitted the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement to their respective university administrations since February 2026, notwithstanding that the National Universities Commission had earlier communicated the agreement to the visitors of the state universities and the vice-chancellors of the two institutions for implementation.
He lamented that despite demonstrations of good faith and engagement of university authorities, including the Governing Councils and University Administrations, implementation had not commenced in either university, describing the situation as both bad and sad for the university system.
He noted that while implementation had commenced in many state-owned universities, including those in Bauchi, Benue, Ekiti, Ogun, Osun and Sokoto states, it was saddening that this had not happened in Anambra and Imo states.
He therefore called on well-meaning citizens of Nigeria, especially traditional and religious institutions, civil society organisations, parents, student groups and other critical stakeholders, to prevail on the Anambra and Imo State governors, as visitors to the respective universities, to commence implementation of the agreement in order to uphold industrial harmony.
He warned that continued delay served no useful purpose and only aggravated industrial tension within the affected universities, stressing that failure to implement the agreement within 14 days would lead to an indefinite strike, and that the union could not continue watching its members in state universities being subjected to poor welfare conditions.
Aribodor warned that the continued delay was worsening lecturers’ welfare and fuelling the exodus of academics from universities in the South-East.
According to him, COOU currently receives about N180 million monthly from the state government, compared to about N600 million allocated by some states for university staff salaries alone, questioning why Anambra and Imo states should wait until there is industrial unrest before taking action.
The ASUU Chairman of COOU, Ibekilo Bruno, said the university requires about N300 million monthly to pay academic staff salaries.
Also speaking, the ASUU Chairman of IMSU, Stephen Oguji, said the university would require about N1 billion to adequately cater for the welfare of both academic and non-academic staff.
Oguji described the situation in the institution as pitiable, alleging that all financial expenditures were controlled by the state government through a single account, leaving the university management with little financial autonomy.
It was earlier reported that the Benin Zone of the Academic Staff Union of Universities has threatened to shut down academic activities in seven state-owned universities across Edo, Delta and Ondo states if the 2025 Federal Government/ASUU Agreement is not implemented in the July salary payment.
The affected institutions are Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma; Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko; Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa; Delta State University, Abraka; University of Delta, Agbor; Dennis Osadebay University, Asaba; and Southern Delta University, Ozoro.
