The management of Abia State University (ABSU) has suspended a lecturer, Prof Nnamdi Nwaeze, from the Department of Economics in the Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences. The suspension was announced on Thursday by the ABSU spokesman, Chijioke Nwogu, in a statement.
According to Premium Times, Nwaeze was suspended on Wednesday for a Facebook post in which he claimed that professors at ABSU earn less than N400,000 per month. The post addressed the recently declared industrial action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) at ABSU.
Lecturer's Claims on Remuneration
In his post, Nwaeze said he was familiar with issues that led to the industrial action but chose not to raise them to avoid being tagged as an “enemy of the state” or dismissed for a “political statement.” He asserted that lecturers at ABSU receive the poorest remuneration and are the least paid among Nigerian universities.
Nwaeze further claimed that lecturers at the university are still being paid under the 2009 ASUU/FG salary structure, rather than the 2024 structure or the recent December 2025 structure, which was not implemented at ABSU. He said professors at ABSU earn less than ₦400,000 per month, while commercial tricyclists earn over ₦450,000 per month.
“Are you aware that professors in all the federal and most state universities now earn between N1.3m to N1.4m as against what is obtainable in ABSU?” he asked. “In this same Abia State, a local government councillor who may not have an ordinary WAEC level certificate allegedly earns about N600,000 monthly. A House of Assembly member earns about ₦8 million net salary in Abia State. Most appointees of this government can pay the salary of a professor and still have enough to take care of their families and personal needs.”
University's Response and Investigation
In the Thursday statement, Nwogu, who doubles as the deputy registrar of the university, said the social media post “is inimical to the interests of the university and uncomplimentary to the visitors of the university.” Governor Alex Otti of Abia State is the visitor to the university.
The ABSU spokesman said the university management has constituted an investigative panel to probe the matter. “The suspension takes immediate effect pending the outcome of the investigation by the panel,” he said.
The suspension means Nwaeze will not perform any academic or administrative duties until the panel concludes its investigation. The outcome of the probe will determine whether the suspension is lifted or further disciplinary action is taken.
