Academic activities at Imo State University (IMSU), Owerri, have been thrown into uncertainty after the university’s chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) declared a total and indefinite strike.
The union announced the industrial action on Monday, August 10, 2026, citing the failure of the Imo State Government and university management to implement the 2025 agreement between ASUU and the Federal Government.
At a press conference in Owerri, the IMSU ASUU Chairman, Stephen Oguji, and Secretary, Lazarus Chikwendu, said the agreement was signed on December 23, 2025, with implementation scheduled to begin on January 1, 2026.
The union said it had repeatedly engaged the university management, formally presented the agreement and issued a 21-day ultimatum, but received no meaningful response. ASUU also noted that implementation had begun in some state-owned universities, including institutions in Bauchi, Ekiti, Ogun, Osun and Sokoto states.
Beyond the 2025 agreement, the lecturers listed several outstanding issues affecting their members. These include unpaid salaries for some staff, promotion arrears dating back to 2016, 21 months of withheld check-off dues, non-payment of Earned Academic Allowance since 2009 and what the union described as the continued retention of IMSU under the Treasury Single Account.
ASUU-IMSU said similar grievances had contributed to its strike in 2024, which was suspended after university management appealed to the union and promised to address the outstanding issues.
The union said it would not return to work until the 2025 ASUU-Federal Government agreement is fully implemented at IMSU. It called on the Imo State Government to intervene urgently, warning that continued delays would increase industrial tension.
ASUU also appealed to traditional and religious leaders, civil society organisations, parents, student unions and other education stakeholders to pressure the university’s Visitor and relevant authorities to address the dispute.
Despite declaring the indefinite strike, the union said it remained open to dialogue and constructive engagement, but warned that its willingness to negotiate should not be interpreted as acceptance of what it described as continued denial of its members’ welfare rights.
