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Lecturers at Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU), under the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), have warned that they may begin the process of industrial action over the continued delay in implementing the 2025 ASUU-Federal Government agreement. The university’s ASUU branch said it had exhausted several rounds of engagement with the institution’s management and Governing Council but had yet to see the agreement implemented.
The agreement, which was concluded after prolonged renegotiation in December 2025 and became effective from January 1, 2026, contains provisions aimed at improving the salaries and working conditions of university lecturers. According to the COOU branch, its members have remained patient and continued carrying out their academic responsibilities despite what it described as prolonged stagnation in their welfare and conditions of service. The union said the continued delay was becoming increasingly difficult for lecturers who have maintained a stable academic calendar at the university.
ASUU-COOU said it had made several attempts to resolve the matter through dialogue rather than confrontation. It disclosed that the union had held meetings with the university administration and participated in a joint committee involving the union, management and the Governing Council, where the financial and non-financial implications of the agreement were presented and discussed. Representatives of ASUU National and the Owerri Zone also visited the university in July 2026 as part of advocacy efforts aimed at encouraging institutions yet to implement the agreement to do so.
Despite those engagements, the lecturers said the situation had not changed. At its September 17 congress, the branch resolved that if the September 2026 salary was paid without the components of the agreement, it would reconsider its decision to continue waiting and begin processes towards industrial action. The union appealed to the Anambra State Government, the university’s Governing Council and management to intervene before the situation escalates, warning that continued failure to address the matter could affect staff morale, the retention of qualified academics and the smooth running of the university.
The dispute has again brought the long-running issue of lecturers’ welfare and the implementation of agreements in state-owned universities into the spotlight. ASUU-COOU has maintained that implementing the agreement is necessary not only for its members but also for the sustainability of quality university education. For now, the lecturers’ position remains that they have given dialogue considerable room, but with the September salary serving as a key point of reference, attention is now on the Anambra State Government, the university authorities and the Governing Council to determine whether the dispute can be resolved without another disruption to academic activities.
