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From Aniekan Aniekan, Calabar
The Calabar Zone of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has threatened a “total, comprehensive and indefinite” strike across four states over the non-implementation of the December 2025 FGN/ASUU Agreement in state-owned universities.
Zonal Coordinator, Comrade Ikechukwu Igwenyi, disclosed this in a statement issued after a Zonal Meeting at the University of Cross River State, UNICROSS.
The statement was jointly signed by chairpersons of ASUU branches in ABSU, AKSU, EBSU, AE-FUNAI, UEE, UNICROSS, UNIUYO, UNICAL as well as a national officer of the union, Comrade Happiness Uduk.
ASUU accused the Governors of Abia, Akwa Ibom, Ebonyi and Cross River of “economic cruelty and strangulation” for failing to pay lecturers what is due.
“We are being taken for granted. The situation at the state level has degenerated into absolute tyranny against intellectual labour,” Igwenyi said. He added that governors “cannot build empires, fund political jamborees, and claim a lack of resources when it comes to the legitimate livelihood of lecturers.”
The union said the agreement, signed on December 23, 2025 after eight years of negotiations, provides a 40% increase in Consolidated Academic Allowance, CATA, Earned Academic Allowances, EAA, Professorial Allowance, and payment of 3.5 months salary arrears.
While the Federal Government has released funds and federal universities have commenced payment, ASUU said no state university in the Calabar Zone has complied.
UNICROSS lecturers have been on strike for three weeks over non-implementation, unpaid salaries, withheld check-off dues and promotion arrears. Similar issues affect AKSU, ABSU, EBSU and UEE.
“If governments choose conflict over justice, we will paralyze the machinery until every kobo owed is paid,” Igwenyi declared.
