Taraba varsity strike over unpaid arrears enters ninth day

The strike by lecturers at Taraba State University (TSU), Jalingo, entered its ninth day on Wednesday, paralysing tutorial actions on the state-owned establishment.

The state authorities has but to announce plans to implement an excellent remuneration settlement or pay wage arrears demanded by the lecturers.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), TSU chapter, started the indefinite strike on 12 October over the implementation of the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU remuneration settlement and the fee of wage arrears gathered from January 2026.

The industrial motion has disrupted lectures and ongoing examinations, leaving college students unsure concerning the continuation of the semester and the college’s tutorial calendar.

ASUU-TSU chairman, Joshua Mbave, mentioned the union had engaged the state authorities since February to resolve points in regards to the welfare of its members.

According to him, the engagements led to the institution of a verification committee to look at wage constructions and the implementation of the remuneration settlement throughout tertiary establishments within the North-east.

Mr Mbave mentioned the committee submitted its report on 24 September, elevating expectations that the federal government would implement its suggestions.

However, he mentioned the anticipated decision didn’t materialise, prompting the union to embark on the strike.

“The union is not opposed to dialogue,” he mentioned. “However, any fresh negotiation must be sincere, time-bound and aimed at a definite resolution.”

The dispute deepened after the state authorities constituted a brand new Tertiary Institutions’ Staff Remuneration and Workforce Planning Committee on 30 September to assessment remuneration and workforce planning throughout state-owned tertiary establishments.

ASUU-TSU rejected the transfer, describing the committee as pointless and a doable try and delay the implementation of suggestions from earlier committees.

The union argued that the federal government ought to implement the present suggestions relatively than set up one other committee to assessment points it mentioned had already been examined.

In addition to the remuneration settlement and wage arrears, the lecturers are demanding fee of excellent Earned Academic Allowances and the institution of a purposeful contributory pension scheme for tutorial workers.

A former vice-chancellor of the college, Muhammad Yahaya, has urged the state authorities to honour its agreements with the union and resolve the dispute to permit college students to return to their research.

Mr Yahaya warned that college students mustn’t proceed to bear the implications of unresolved disagreements between the federal government and college authorities.

He additionally known as for a sustainable funding framework to stop recurring disputes over lecturers’ welfare.

Meanwhile, the strike has raised issues amongst college students concerning the disruption of examinations and doable delays to their tutorial development.

Final-year college students are significantly nervous concerning the potential impact on their commencement timelines.

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The college administration has appealed to college students to stay calm and affected person, acknowledging that the commercial motion has disrupted ongoing examinations.

It mentioned it remained dedicated to dialogue and bettering workers welfare, whereas urging college students to depend on official communication for updates on examinations and the resumption of educational actions.

The Taraba State Government has defended the brand new committee, saying it’s meant to make sure truthful therapy of workers throughout tertiary establishments and accountable administration of public funds.

However, the federal government has but to publicly announce when it would implement the remuneration settlement or pay the arrears demanded by the lecturers.

ASUU-TSU says the strike will stay “total, comprehensive and indefinite” till its calls for are met.

With the commercial motion getting into its ninth day, college students stay unsure about when tutorial actions will resume, because the dispute over lecturers’ remuneration and welfare stays unresolved.