ASUU declares indefinite strike at university of Port Harcourt

The union had, at an earlier emergency congress on Friday, September 11, given the university administration until midnight on Tuesday, September 15, to address what it described as urgent concerns relating to the salaries and emoluments of its members.

Among the issues raised were incomplete payment of lecturers’ salaries for June, July and August 2026, incomplete payment of responsibility allowances and non-payment of the allowance to members under the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) and Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) in the School of Health Sciences.

The union also alleged that ASUU members had been excluded from the monthly payment of responsibility allowances paid to members of other unions at the university for more than two years.

Union Says Deadline Expired Without Resolution

Amakoromo said the university administration met with the union on September 11 and promised to respond to the demands before the deadline set by the congress.

“Regrettably, the University Administration, in spite of meeting with the Union on the same day and promising to respond to the Union’s demands before the deadline given by Congress, refused to act as promised,” the statement said.

The union said the 48-hour deadline subsequently elapsed at midnight on September 15 without the outstanding issues being resolved.

It said the failure of the university administration to address the demands prompted the branch to convene another emergency congress on September 16, where members resolved to commence an indefinite strike.

“A strike action has been declared by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Port Harcourt Branch following the University Administration’s failure to address the demands of the Union,” the statement said.

The branch said the strike had the backing of the union’s national body, as earlier stated in the resolution of its September 11 emergency congress.

Lecturers Ordered to Halt Duties

Under the strike directive, ASUU members at the University of Port Harcourt are expected to suspend academic and official duties for the duration of the industrial action.

The union said lecturers were not expected to conduct lectures or examinations, invigilate examinations, participate in official assignments or attend statutory meetings during the strike.

“For the avoidance of doubt, members of ASUU are not supposed to give lectures or examinations, invigilate examinations, participate in any official assignment or statutory meetings during the strike action,” the statement stated.

To ensure compliance, the branch said it had constituted a Strike Monitoring Team to monitor implementation of the directive across the university’s main campus and other centres.

“The Strike Monitoring Team has been mandated to monitor compliance across the University’s campuses and Centres,” the statement added.

The union said the monitoring team would oversee compliance with the strike directive across the institution while the industrial action remained in force.

The development could disrupt academic activities at the University of Port Harcourt as the union seeks resolution of the issues it raised concerning salary payments and responsibility allowances.

The ASUU branch’s declaration comes after its stated attempt to resolve the matters through engagement with the university administration and the expiration of the deadline issued at its September 11 emergency congress.

The union has not indicated a specific end date for the strike, stating that the action would remain indefinite pending resolution of its demands.