The University of Port Harcourt branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has declared an indefinite strike over incomplete salary payments and outstanding responsibility allowances owed to its members.
The decision was taken at an emergency congress on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, after the university administration failed to resolve the union’s demands within a 48-hour deadline issued earlier in the week.
The development was disclosed by the branch Secretary, Tarila Amakoromo, in a statement issued on Thursday. According to the union, the dispute centres on incomplete payments covering three months of lecturers’ salaries, specifically June, July and August 2026.
The union also raised concerns over incomplete payment of responsibility allowances to lecturers, as well as the alleged non-payment of the allowance to members under CONMESS and CONHESS in the School of Health Sciences.
ASUU further accused the university administration of sidelining its members in the monthly payment of responsibility allowances given to members of other unions for more than two years.
The union said its emergency congress on September 11 had given the university administration 48 working hours to address the issues. The deadline expired at midnight on September 15 without the outstanding matters being resolved.
Amakoromo said the university administration had met with ASUU representatives on September 11 and promised to respond to the union’s demands before the deadline.
“Regrettably, 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,” the statement said.
Following the expiration of the deadline, the union said its emergency congress on September 16 resolved to commence indefinite strike action.
ASUU stated that its members would withdraw from lectures, examinations, examination invigilation, official assignments and statutory meetings for the duration of the industrial action.
“For the avoidance of doubt, members of ASUU are not supposed to give lectures or examinations, invigilate examinations, participate in any official assignment or statutory meetings during the strike action,” the union said.
A Strike Monitoring Team has also been constituted to monitor compliance across the university’s campuses and centres.
The declaration now puts academic activities at the University of Port Harcourt on hold pending further developments between the university administration and the lecturers’ union.
