Lecturers at the Federal University Wukari (FUW), under the umbrella of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), staged a protest on Wednesday through the streets of Wukari, decrying what they described as persistent neglect by the federal government.
Led by the chairperson of the ASUU FUW branch, Professor Asabe Mercy, the demonstrators expressed outrage over stalled negotiations, unpaid entitlements, and deteriorating conditions in the Nigerian university system.
The protest drew a large turnout of academic staff, who carried placards and chanted slogans demanding action from the government.
One of the major flashpoints of the protest was the federal government’s recently introduced Tertiary Institution Staff Support Fund, a loan scheme designed to provide financial aid to academic staff.
However, ASUU members vehemently rejected the initiative, arguing that it falls far short of addressing their core concerns.
“Our take-home pay cannot take us home. And to add salt to injury, they want to give us loans. We are rejecting that outrightly. Give us our salaries. Agreement is agreement. Enough is enough,” Professor Mercy declared during the protest.
The union warned that the government’s continued inaction could trigger another nationwide shutdown of universities. Professor Mercy urged the public to hold the government accountable if academic activities are suspended.
“They reach agreements but fail to implement them. We are asking the public to hold the government responsible should we shut down the university system, because the public always accuses ASUU. We want Nigerians to know it is not ASUU but the government,” she said.
Among ASUU’s key demands, as noticed by The Guardian, include full payment of Earned Academic Allowance (EAA), immediate disbursement of revitalisation fund for universities, an end to salary stagnation, and improved welfare packages for academic staff.
The union criticised the recent N50 billion released by the Federal Government, stating it represents less than 10 per cent of the amount owed to the academic sector.
Supporting the chairperson’s position, Professor Kidzu Oweh, a former ASUU FUW Chairman, described the current salary structure for Nigerian lecturers as “humiliating” and questioned the rationale behind offering loans rather than addressing the long-standing wage issues.
The protest in Wukari, as observed by The Guardian, is the latest in a series of actions by ASUU chapters nationwide, as the union ramps up pressure on the Federal Government to fulfil its obligations and restore integrity to the nation’s higher education system.
