No fewer than 200 lecturers employed by Abia State University (ABSU), Uturu, in 2023 have raised alarm over 12 months of unpaid salaries. The affected lecturers are now appealing to the Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, to urgently intervene in their case.
The group’s spokesperson, Chukwemeka Thompson, said all efforts to receive their wages or get clarification from the university and the state government have failed.
“We were employed in 2023. Everything was going smoothly until around June last year when our salary stopped coming,” he said. “We went to the Bursary Department and were told to go to the Accountant General’s office. When we got there, we were told that an instruction from the government had stopped our salary.”
Thompson said they later returned to the university management for answers, but were told that since the government now controls the university’s finances, there was nothing the management could do.
Despite being employed formally and performing full duties—teaching, marking scripts, and supervising students—the lecturers say they’ve been abandoned, with no disengagement letters or communication from the authorities.
“By December 2024, we heard the governor had resolved the issue and we would be paid. But nothing happened,” Thompson added.
Two other affected lecturers, Dr. Nwosu Nkemakolam Bright and Okpechi Chinemerem, also appealed to the governor to act with compassion.
“We are pleading with Governor Alex Otti to pay us as he has paid other ministries, including staff at Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic, Aba,” they said.
The Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in Abia State University, Dr. Chidi Mba, confirmed the situation. He urged the state government to regularise the appointments and pay the lecturers, stating that most of them were qualified and have been serving the university diligently.
“They have valid employment letters and have not been issued sack letters. Since they are teaching and contributing to the system, they should be paid. They are suffering,” he said.
The affected lecturers continue to wait, hoping the state government will come to their rescue and end their hardship.
