FIC Report (Imo State) – Academic activities at Imo State University (IMSU), Owerri, may be disrupted indefinitely following the declaration of a total strike by the university’s chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) over alleged failure by the Imo State Government and the university management to implement a 2025 agreement on staff welfare and conditions of service.
The union announced the industrial action at a press conference held at the university, accusing the authorities of repeatedly failing to honour commitments made to academic staff despite several meetings and engagements.
The branch chairman, Stephen Oguji, and secretary, Lazarus Chikwendu, said the decision to embark on the strike was reached after all efforts to secure the implementation of the agreement through dialogue yielded no meaningful result.
Topmost of the dispute is an agreement signed by ASUU and the Federal Government on December 23, 2025, which, according to the union, was scheduled to take effect from January 1, 2026. The agreement provides for improved welfare and other conditions of service for academic staff in public universities.
ASUU-IMSU chapter maintained that it had presented the agreement to the university management on several occasions and subsequently issued a 21-day ultimatum, demanding action on its implementation. The union, however, alleged that the management failed to respond satisfactorily to its demands hence the industrial action.
The lecturers further claimed that similar agreements had been implemented in some state-owned universities in Bauchi, Ekiti, Ogun, Osun and Sokoto states respectively.
Apart from the implementation of the 2025 agreement, the union also mentioned a number of outstanding financial and welfare issues that it said had remained unresolved for years.
Among them are promotion arrears allegedly dating back to 2016, outstanding salaries owed to some academic staff, 21 months of withheld check-off dues and the non-payment of earned academic allowances dating back to 2009.
The union said the prolonged failure to address the issues had placed its members under severe financial pressure and worsened their working conditions.
The latest action is not the first industrial confrontation between the union and the university authorities. ASUU-IMSU said some of the grievances had triggered its 2024 strike, which was suspended after the university management reportedly gave assurances that the outstanding issues would be resolved.
With this latest declaration, the union has called on the Imo State Government to urgently intervene and implement the 2025 agreement, alongside resolving the outstanding financial obligations to its members.The lecturers urged traditional rulers, religious leaders, civil society groups, parents, student unions and other relevant stakeholders to step in and help resolve the dispute before it takes a heavier toll on students and the university community.
The development is expected to heighten pressure on the Imo State Government and university management to find a lasting solution to the dispute and prevent prolonged disruption of academic activities at the institution.
AKUSHIE, CHIOMA MARK HELEN.
HOC . FIC. OWERRI.
10/08/2026
