ASUU Strike: UNIZIK Management Breaks Silence After Lecturers Stopped Working
- ASUU-UNIZIK declared an indefinite strike on Monday over what lecturers described as non-payment of complete August 2026 salaries
- The union alleged it was at least the third time lecturers at the university had received half of their salaries
- UNIZIK spokesperson Aloysius Attah pushed back on the lecturers' claims, offering a different account of what was withheld
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The management of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka (UNIZIK), has denied claims by its lecturers that they received only half of their August 2026 salaries, as the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) chapter at the institution continues an indefinite strike.
UNIZIK spokesperson Aloysius Attah told journalists on Tuesday that the lecturers' salaries were fully paid and that what remained outstanding was a separate payment entirely.
Source: Facebook
"No one got half salary. Their salaries are intact. It is only their Earned Academic Allowance," Attah said.
Why UNIZIK says the allowance was not fully paid
According to Premium Times, Attah explained that the university has been struggling to meet the full Earned Academic Allowance payments due to a drop in its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). He said the federal government had reached an agreement with ASUU's national leadership on how the allowance would be paid, but later directed individual universities to fund the payments from their own IGR, with a promise to reimburse them at a later date.
According to the spokesperson, UNIZIK spends at least N500 million every month to cover the allowance, a financial burden that has become difficult to sustain given the institution's current revenue position.
Attah added that the university's vice-chancellor had met with the lecturers before the strike began and personally asked them for more time to raise the funds. He said management was surprised the union went ahead with the industrial action despite that appeal.
"The management is trying hard to sustain the payment of the earned allowance to the lecturers every month," he said.
ASUU-UNIZIK's position on the strike
The ASUU chapter at the federal university, located in Anambra State, announced the strike on Monday. In their declaration, the lecturers directed all members to immediately withdraw academic and administrative services until the "complete payment of the August 2026 salary to all members."
The union described the outstanding payment as the "sole reason" for the work stoppage and said the failure to receive full pay was not an isolated incident, alleging it had happened at least twice before.
The strike has raised fresh concerns about the academic calendar at UNIZIK, given that students will be unable to attend classes or access academic services for as long as the action continues.
ASUU begins indefinite strike at over 20 state universities
Legit.ng earlier reported that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has grounded academic activities in more than 20 state-owned universities across Nigeria, after lecturers withdrew their services in compliance with a directive from the union's national leadership.
The industrial action, which took effect on Tuesday, August 26, 2026, targets the non-implementation of salary provisions under the 2009 Re-negotiated Agreement and the failure by state governments to pay arrears owed since January 2026.
Source: Legit.ng
