By:Odeh Favour Adiya
Academic activities were thrown into jeopardy on Monday as the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) chapter, Awka, declared an indefinite strike over the partial payment of their members’ August 2026 salaries.
The decision was communicated in a press statement jointly signed by the UNIZIK ASUU Chairperson, Innocent Nnubia, and Secretary, Osita Nnajiofor, following a Congress meeting held on Monday.
According to the union, the total withdrawal of academic and administrative services is in strict compliance with a standing directive from the ASUU National Executive Council (NEC) regarding default on salary disbursements.
In the statement released to newsmen, the union declared, “The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU-UNIZIK Branch, at its Congress held today, Monday, September 7, 2026, resolved to withdraw her services in compliance with the standing Resolution of ASUU National Executive Council on non-payment of salaries.
“The ASUU-NEC standing Resolution empowers branches of the Union to withdraw their services when salaries are not paid after the 3rd day of the next month.”
Expressing deep frustration over what they described as a recurring ordeal, the union noted that this was not the first time their salaries were being shortchanged.
“Today is 7th September 2026 and the University has not paid complete salary for the month of August to our members.
“This makes it more than three times that our members are having this ugly and frustrating experience,” the statement read.
The union urged both the university management and the Visitor to the university, President Bola Tinubu, to urgently step in and resolve the issue once and for all.
“The sole reason for this action is the non-payment of the complete salary of August 2026.
We therefore implore University Authorities, and Visitor (President Bola Tinubu) to urgently address the situation by ensuring the complete payment of August 2026 salary to our members and ensure that this ugly experience does not repeat itself.
“The Congress resolution directs as follows that all members should immediately withdraw all academic and administrative services. The withdrawal of services shall subsist until the complete payment of August 2026 salary to all members.”
Efforts to get official reactions from the institution yielded little, as the Director of Information and Public Relations, UNIZIK, Aloysius Attah, declined to comment.
When contacted over the industrial action, Attah simply said, “No comment.”
