Elochukwu Benjamin
Awka
Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has apologised to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Abia State University (ABSU) Branch, over the recent strike that disrupted academic activities, blaming bureaucratic delays for the industrial action and warning that officials who fail to implement his directives promptly will face severe sanctions.
The governor spoke on Thursday at the grand finale of the Abia@35 celebrations held at the Ochendo International Conference Centre, Umuahia, where he said the strike could have been prevented if approvals granted by his administration had been implemented without delay.
Otti disclosed that he had approved the union’s demands as early as April 2026 but lamented that the directives were not acted upon in time.
“The strike was avoidable. I want to apologise to ASUU. It is a failure on the part of government, and that is why under this administration, such won’t be allowed again. Any official who delays further my directive won’t be spared,” he said.
In a stern warning to government officials, the governor declared that “heads will go” if anyone frustrates or delays the execution of decisions already approved by his administration.
He questioned why an implementation committee was set up after the approvals had already been granted, insisting that civil servants must take responsibility for executing government directives within a reasonable timeframe.
The governor assured the university community that measures would be put in place to prevent a recurrence of the circumstances that led to the strike.
Meanwhile, academic staff of Abia State University received their August salaries on Thursday, with the payment reflecting the salary component of the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU Agreement, including the Consequential Adjustment to Academic Salaries (CATA), Earned Academic Allowances (EAA), and Professorial Allowance.
The ASUU-ABSU Branch described the payment as a landmark achievement, saying the institution had become the first university in the South-East to implement the salary component of the 2025 agreement, which it said represents a major step towards honouring collective bargaining agreements and improving staff welfare.
