Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, has called on the federal government to urgently address the staff situation at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, who have allegedly not been paid for five years. The affected group includes teaching and non-teaching staff reportedly hired between 2019 and 2020. Despite holding valid employment letters, they remain excluded from the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), making it impossible for them to receive salaries.
After meeting with the affected workers, Obi described their accounts as deeply troubling. He said they had reached out through petitions and appeals to several authorities within and outside Nigeria, but had seen no resolution. According to him, the issue has gone beyond unpaid wages and has led to serious personal consequences—staff have been evicted from their homes, families have broken apart, medical conditions remain untreated, and some workers have even died due to lack of access to healthcare.
Obi condemned the situation as a clear sign of government neglect, especially when the education sector is already under pressure. He stated that ignoring the financial well-being of university staff contradicts the nation’s commitment to improving education. He stressed that this was not just a labour issue but a moral one, noting that no country can progress while disregarding the welfare of its educators.
He called on the federal government to immediately include the affected staff in the IPPIS platform and ensure that all unpaid salaries are cleared. Obi also pointed out that this incident adds to the larger issue of poor working conditions in Nigerian public universities, where staff often face salary delays, underfunding, and a lack of support.
His remarks reflect growing frustration among stakeholders in the education sector over continued neglect and unpaid entitlements.
