ASUU Urges Uzodimma To Intervene In IMSU Lecturers’ Strike

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Owerri Zone, has appealed to Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, to urgently intervene in the ongoing strike by lecturers of Imo State University (IMSU), Owerri.

The union urged the governor, who is the visitor to the university, to convene a meeting involving the institution’s management, Governing Council and ASUU leadership to address the issues responsible for the industrial action.

The appeal was contained in a statement signed by the zonal coordinator of ASUU Owerri Zone, Dennis Aribodor, and made available to journalists in Owerri on Thursday.

The statement, titled: “Governor Hope Uzodimma: Imo State University Needs Your Urgent Attention,” said IMSU lecturers had been on strike for 37 days over the implementation of the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU Agreement, which took effect in January 2026 across public universities in Nigeria.

According to the union, relevant communications from the National Universities Commission (NUC) on the implementation of the agreement had been transmitted to the university administration, Governing Council and the visitor, but the agreement was yet to be implemented at IMSU.

ASUU alleged that the university management might not have adequately briefed Governor Uzodimma on the situation at the institution.

“Today marks the 37th day the Imo State University lecturers have been on strike. The bone of contention is the implementation of the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement, whose implementation took effect in January 2026 across public universities in Nigeria,” the statement said.

The union claimed that several state governments had agreed to implement the agreement, with some already commencing implementation.

It also raised concerns over the staffing situation at IMSU, alleging that the university currently had more than 50 casual workers serving as lecturers and earning about N50,000 monthly.

ASUU attributed the staffing challenge to the absence of a recruitment exercise at the institution for more than 10 years, saying the last recruitment was conducted in 2014.

The union further alleged that the university’s academic staff strength had declined from more than 1,000 to about 500 due to migration, retirement and death.

It said a roundtable involving the governor, university management, Governing Council and ASUU would provide an opportunity for the governor to gain a clearer understanding of the challenges confronting the institution and facilitate their resolution.

ASUU also questioned the conduct of examinations at the university during the strike, arguing that the purported examinations could not be regarded as genuine examinations under the prevailing circumstances.

The union therefore called on Uzodimma to urgently intervene and bring all the relevant parties to the negotiating table.

“Our appeal as ASUU Owerri Zone is to call on you, as the Visitor of Imo State University, to summon the University Administration and the Governing Council as well as ASUU to a round table to be fully briefed on the very ugly situation in the university so as to properly intervene to save the soul of the university by implementing the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement,” the statement said.