The strike embarked on last week by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASSU, of Imo State University, IMSU, is still rocking the foundation of the state owned tertiary institution.
Despite the assurance of the Imo State Government that it was ‘on top of the situation”, Business Hallmark reliably gathered that tranquility was yet to be restored at IMSU at the time of fielding this report.
Trouble erupted in IMSU when ASUU at the university declared strike following the inability of the management and Imo State Government to comprehensively implement the agreement reached between ASUU and the Federal Government of Nigeria in 2025.
According to IMSU ASUU chairman, Dr Stephen Oguzie, the strike was necessitated by non compliance of federal government’s directives to federal and state owned universities.
According to him, “These public universities are federal and state owned. The Federal Government of Nigeria has implemented that 2025 agreement at it concerns federal government universities but some state owned universities have yet to get anything to that effect; and there is no sign the state governments are poised for action ant moment soon. Of course, Imo State Government is among those that have yet to honour that agreement”.
He added, “Let me make it clear, the agreement in question is about the salaries of lecturers and university autonomy. The fact is, IMSU is fun from the government house and not from the school. Our salaries emanate from the government house just as IMSU management does not have full powers to run the school”.
Oguzie equally noted that “There is an upward review of lecturers’ salary across the country but IMSU is yet to key into that development. Even in the post graduate programme, the allowance paid by other universities to lecturers does not exist in IMSU, and it is a part of the agreement we signed last year”.
In the face of the tiff between IMSU management and ASSU, the school management has assured that the installation’s academic calendar and other activities would be strictly adhered to.
In a release signed by the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the institution, Dr Agustus Nwaozor, the school management said, “This is to notify all students of Imo State University (IMSU) that the 2025/2026 Second Semester Examinations.
” Students are advised to ignore these rumours (indicating that the examinations have been postponed). No official postponement has been issued by the University”.
On its side, the Imo State Government, through the commissioner of information and strategy, Hon Mbadiwe Emelumba, has noted that the government of Governor Hope Uzodimma had been doing everything possible to attend to IMSU ASSU challenges, insisting that the school was not the only one yet to meet with ASSU 2025 agreement.
Many believe that the IMSU ASSU crisis is far from being over.