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From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
The fragile industrial peace at the Federal College of Education (FCE), Eha-Amufu, Enugu State, has collapsed as the institution’s academic staff embarked on a two-week warning strike effective yesterday.
The staff, under the aegis of the College of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), said the strike was aimed at expressing their dissatisfaction over the inability of the college management to address their earlier demands. Chairman of COEASU, FCE Eha-Amufu chapter, Chidi Agbo, told The Sun that the strike became the union’s last resort after the college management failed to meet the demands outlined during the union’s congress last month.
Agbo warned that if the college failed to address the demands at the end of the two-week warning strike, the union might be compelled to take further actions, including an indefinite strike.
He said: “The college management has not shown any seriousness in addressing our demands, not even one, within the period we gave them. We had meetings with the college management, including the Governing Council Chairman, Mr. Melubari Akekue and the provost of the college, Dr. Pauline Ikwuegbu, but no progress was made.
“Hence, the decision to downtools was taken, and it is binding only on academic staff. Other activities are ongoing in the college because non-academic staff are not part of the warning strike,” he said.
Among the union’s grievances is the recent appointment of Dr. Samuel Odo as Deputy Provost of the college. The union argued that the office of Deputy Provost is a critical academic and administrative position that requires democratic legitimacy, due process and institutional integrity.
The union expressed concern that the election for a substantive Deputy Provost remains inconclusive, alleging that Dr. Odo failed to hand over to Dr. Cecilia Eze, who was appointed acting Deputy Provost following the Governing Council’s decision at its 113th meeting on March 5.
The union demanded the immediate reversal of the appointment made by the Governing Council under the chairmanship of Prince Akekue and Dr. Ikwuegbu.
It also condemned what it described as a growing disregard for established rules and procedures in the appointment of Heads of Departments (HoDs), alleging violations of provisions of the Colleges of Education Act, 2023.
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The union further demanded the immediate payment of promotion arrears covering 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 to academic staff members, who had been duly promoted after undergoing the required assessment processes.
“These arrears are entitlements, not privileges. Any further delay in payment amounts to a violation of contractual obligations and a direct attack on staff welfare. The union, therefore, demands the immediate payment of all outstanding promotion arrears to the affected members,” it stated.
COEASU also demanded the immediate payment of eight months’ outstanding salaries allegedly owed to some staff members since 2019, saying the situation had caused severe financial hardship, weakened staff morale and raised serious ethical and legal concerns.
It raised the alarm over what it described as the deteriorating security situation within the college, stressing that the security infrastructure in the college had proven inadequate in addressing the growing threats to lives, property and academic stability within the institution.
“We, therefore, demand an urgent overhaul of the college’s security department through the engagement of more trained and responsive personnel to ensure the safety of students, staff and college facilities,” the communiqué stated.
The union further highlighted the non-payment of the Peculiar Earned Academic Allowance (PEAA) for 10 months to academic staff of the institution. “The PEAA was introduced to recognise and compensate for the unique and additional responsibilities borne by the academic staff in Colleges of Education across Nigeria.
“It is a product of negotiated agreements between the Federal Government and the academic staff unions and it is critical to sustaining academic productivity and fairness.
“Despite its acknowledged importance and consistent inclusion in compensation structures in similar institutions, academic staff of FCE, Eha-Amufu, have been denied the allowance for 10 consecutive months.
“The prolonged and unacceptable delay directly affects staff morale, institutional integrity and the overall functionality of the college’s academic system. Consequently, the union demands the immediate payment of the accumulated 10 months’ PEAA arrears to all entitled staff members.”
