UNIPORT ASUU Declares Indefinite Strike Over Unpaid Salaries and Allowance Disparities

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) branch, has declared an indefinite strike, bringing academic activities at the prestigious institution to a standstill. The industrial action stems from the university administration’s continued failure to address critical grievances regarding the incomplete payment of salaries and responsibility allowances to its members.

The escalation follows a breakdown in negotiations between the union and the university management. According to a statement issued on Thursday by Tarila Amakoromo, the ASUU Secretary at UNIPORT, the union’s executive council had previously granted the administration a 48-hour ultimatum to resolve the lingering financial discrepancies. The deadline, which elapsed at midnight on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, was issued following an emergency congress held on Friday, September 11.

Despite assurances from the university management during a meeting on September 11 that the issues would be promptly addressed, the administration failed to take concrete action. Consequently, the union convened another emergency congress on Wednesday, September 16, where members unanimously resolved to commence an indefinite local strike, a move reportedly backed by the union’s national body.

The union’s grievances are multifaceted and point to systemic administrative lapses in staff welfare management. Chief among the demands is the incomplete payment of lecturers’ salaries for three consecutive months: June, July, and August 2026. Furthermore, the union highlighted the irregular and incomplete disbursement of responsibility allowances, a critical component of academic staff remuneration. 

A particularly contentious issue is the alleged marginalization of ASUU members in the distribution of these allowances. The union accused the management of sidelining its members in the monthly payment of responsibility allowances that have been routinely paid to members of other unions within the university for over two years. Additionally, the statement drew attention to the complete non-payment of responsibility allowances to lecturers under the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) and the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) within the School of Health Sciences, further exacerbating the welfare deficit among academic professionals.

“The University Administration, in spite of meeting with the Union on the same day and promising to respond to the Union’s demands before the deadline given by Congress, refused to act as promised,” Amakoromo stated, expressing the union’s profound disappointment over the broken commitments.

In light of the strike declaration, the union has issued strict directives to its members to cease all academic and official duties with immediate effect. The directive explicitly prohibits lecturers from delivering lectures, conducting or invigilating examinations, participating in official assignments, or attending statutory meetings. 

To ensure total compliance and maintain the integrity of the industrial action, a dedicated Strike Monitoring Team has been constituted. This team is mandated to oversee adherence to the strike guidelines across the university’s main campus in Choba, as well as its various satellite centres and affiliated institutions. Any member found violating the strike directives is expected to face the full weight of the union’s disciplinary measures.

The development at UNIPORT does not exist in a vacuum. It reflects a broader, troubling trend of industrial unrest within Nigeria’s tertiary education sector. Recently, similar strike actions have been declared by ASUU branches in several Lagos state universities and institutions in Plateau State, all citing unmet welfare demands. These recurring disruptions underscore the fragile state of industrial relations in Nigerian academia and the urgent need for sustainable mechanisms to address staff welfare.

As the strike commences, the primary burden falls on the students, whose academic calendars are once again thrown into disarray. The union has maintained that the strike will remain indefinite until the university management fully rectifies the salary arrears, harmonizes the payment of responsibility allowances across all unions, and provides written guarantees to prevent future occurrences. Until a mutually acceptable resolution is reached, the academic community remains in a state of suspended animation.