PORT HARCOURT, NIGERIA– The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Port Harcourt branch, has declared an indefinite strike over what it referred to as insufficient payment of salaries and obligation allowances to its members.
The union stated the industrial action followed the failure of the university management to solve its needs in spite of a conference with its agents and guarantees that the outstanding issues would be addressed.
The ASUU branch likewise alleged that its members had been sidelined in the regular monthly payment of duty allowances received by members of other unions for more than two years.
The branch Secretary, Tarila Amakoromo, disclosed this in a declaration sent to reporters on Thursday.
According to the declaration, the choice to commence the strike followed resolutions reached at an emergency congress hung on Wednesday, September 16, after the expiration of a 48-working-hour due date issued to the university administration.
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The union had, at an earlier emergency congress on Friday, September 11, given the university administration till midnight on Tuesday, September 15, to address what it referred to as urgent concerns associating with the salaries and emoluments of its members.
Amongst the issues raised were incomplete payment of speakers’ wages for June, July and August 2026, incomplete payment of duty allowances and non-payment of the allowance to members under the Consolidated Medical Wage Structure (CONMESS) and Consolidated Health Income Structure (CONHESS) in the School of Health Sciences.
The union also declared that ASUU members had actually been left out from the regular monthly payment of obligation allowances paid to members of other unions at the university for more than two years.
Union States Due Date Expired Without Resolution
Amakoromo said the university administration met with the union on September 11 and guaranteed to react to the demands before the deadline set by the congress.
“Regrettably, the University Administration, in spite of conference with the Union on the very same day and guaranteeing to respond to the Union’s needs before the due date provided by Congress, refused to act as guaranteed,” the declaration stated.
The union stated the 48-hour due date subsequently expired at midnight on September 15 without the exceptional problems being dealt with.
It said the failure of the university administration to attend to the demands prompted the branch to assemble another emergency congress on September 16, where members resolved to start an indefinite strike.
“A strike action has been stated by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Port Harcourt Branch following the University Administration’s failure to resolve the demands of the Union,” the statement said.
The branch stated the strike had the support of the union’s nationwide body, as earlier mentioned in the resolution of its September 11 emergency situation congress.
Lecturers Purchased to Halt Tasks
Under the strike directive, ASUU members at the University of Port Harcourt are expected to suspend scholastic and official responsibilities throughout of the commercial action.
The union stated speakers were not anticipated to carry out lectures or examinations, invigilate examinations, take part in official tasks or participate in statutory meetings throughout the strike.
“For the avoidance of doubt, members of ASUU are not supposed to give lectures or evaluations, invigilate examinations, participate in any official assignment or statutory meetings throughout the strike action,” the statement mentioned.
To guarantee compliance, the branch stated it had constituted a Strike Tracking Group to keep track of execution of the directive across the university’s main school and other centres.
“The Strike Tracking Group has actually been mandated to monitor compliance across the University’s campuses and Centres,” the statement added.
The union stated the tracking group would manage compliance with the strike regulation across the organization while the commercial action remained in force.
The development could interfere with scholastic activities at the University of Port Harcourt as the union looks for resolution of the problems it raised worrying income payments and responsibility allowances.
The ASUU branch’s statement follows its mentioned effort to solve the matters through engagement with the university administration and the expiration of the deadline released at its September 11 emergency situation congress.
The union has not shown a specific end date for the strike, mentioning that the action would remain indefinite pending resolution of its needs.