Academic activities have been disrupted at the University of Cross River (UniCross) as the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), state chapter, has commenced an indefinite strike over welfare concerns and unmet agreements with government authorities.
The union said the decision followed the breakdown of dialogue with the university management after several attempts to resolve outstanding issues proved unsuccessful.
In a statement signed by the ASUU branch chairman, Dr. Patrick Ushie, the union listed 11 demands that informed its decision to withdraw services indefinitely.
The demands include the implementation of the revised salary structure, improved welfare packages for academic staff, and the immediate execution of non-financial provisions contained in the 2025 ASUU-FG renegotiated agreement.
The union also called for increased funding for the institution and insisted that salaries should be paid not later than the third day of every month.
It further demanded the payment of all outstanding arrears, including wage awards of 35 per cent and 25 per cent introduced in public universities since January 2023.
ASUU also insisted on the remittance of check-off dues owed to both the UniCross branch and the national body, amounting to about N11.9 million, including recent deductions for December 2024 and November 2025.
The union additionally demanded the payment of promotion arrears and earned academic allowances spanning several years under the 2009 FG-ASUU agreement.
Speaking on the strike, Dr. Ushie said the action became necessary after repeated engagements with the university management failed to yield results.
According to him, the management explained that limited funding was preventing the implementation of the union’s demands.
“The management told us that their hands are tied as they don’t have the funds to implement our demands.
“They told us that they currently receive N300 million as subvention from the government and would need an additional N200 million to meet our demands,” he said.
Ushie added that letters had been sent to Governor Bassey Otu, but no response had been received at the time of the announcement.
“We also wrote the governor (Bassey Otu) and as we speak he has not responded to our letter.
“Until our demands are met in full, the industrial action remains total and will continue indefinitely,” he declared.
Efforts to obtain a response from the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Francesca Bassey, were unsuccessful as calls and messages were not answered at the time of filing this report.
