Academic activities at the Moses Orshio Adasu University, Makurdi have come to a halt as the non-academic staff unions declared an indefinite strike over unresolved welfare matters.
The strike was declared by the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) at the institution. The union said the strike became necessary after repeated appeals and three separate ultimatums failed to yield any results.
Announcing the strike on Tuesday, the unions accused the university management of failing to pay various entitlements, including the new national minimum wage, the 25% and 35% salary increment, and several months of salary arrears.
Chairman of JAC at the university, Comrade Shishi Luper, said the union’s patience had run out after months of promises without action. He described the delay in settling staff entitlements as “unjustifiable” and said it had thrown many staff members into serious financial hardship.
“The goodwill of the congress to sustain industrial harmony has been stretched, despite the untold hardship suffered by members due to non-fulfilment of staff welfare demands,” Luper said.
According to JAC, the strike will continue until the university management fulfils all of the following demands:
Full implementation of the new national minimum wage
Payment of the 25%/35% salary increase approved by the federal government
Payment of salary arrears
Implementation of promotion increments for workers promoted between 2022 and 2024
Settlement of gratuities owed to retired staff
Regular payment of pensions with arrears
Resumption of monthly remittances to the Contributory Pension Scheme
The emergency congress where the strike was declared was attended by the Acting Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Simon Ubwa, and the Registrar, Mr. Barnabas Hemba. The two top officials reportedly tried to calm tensions and pleaded for more time to resolve the issues.
Prof. Ubwa appealed to the unions to give the management till the end of September to settle some of the outstanding matters. However, when the issue was put to a vote, the majority of union members rejected the appeal and chose to commence strike action immediately.
Following this decision, JAC directed all non-academic staff to withdraw their services and stay at home until the university meets their demands.
“Our members have suffered enough. We are left with no option but to take this stand,” Comrade Luper stated.
Moses Orshio Adasu University, formerly known as Benue State University of Science and Technology, is a state-owned institution in Makurdi. Like many other state and federal universities in Nigeria, the school has been plagued by issues related to poor funding, irregular salary payments, and unfulfilled welfare promises.
The latest strike action is part of a larger trend across Nigeria’s university system, where both academic and non-academic staff have repeatedly protested delays in salaries, promotions, pensions, and implementation of agreements.
Education watchers say if not resolved quickly, the strike may disrupt academic calendars, delay examinations, and affect thousands of students who are already facing various academic setbacks.
The university management has not yet issued an official statement on the next steps, but insiders say discussions are ongoing behind closed doors.
For now, the gates remain shut as non-academic workers stand their ground, demanding what they say is their rightful entitlement.
