Abia State University (ABSU), Uturu, has suspended Professor Nnamdi Nwaeze of the Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences, following a series of Facebook posts in which he raised concerns about the welfare of lecturers at the institution. The suspension was announced by Deputy Registrar and Public Relations Officer Chijioke Nwogu in a statement issued on Thursday, August 13. The university said the action was prompted by posts attributed to Nwaeze that were "inimical to the interests of the University and uncomplimentary to the Visitor of the University."
Nwaeze's Allegations on Facebook
The day before the suspension, Nwaeze published a post on his Facebook account claiming that members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) at ABSU ranked among the lowest-paid university lecturers in the country. He said staff were still being paid under the 2009 ASUU-Federal Government salary structure while being taxed at the 2024 rate, and that a 2024 salary agreement between ASUU and the Federal Government had not been implemented at the institution. He added that a further salary structure approved in December 2025, which took effect from January 1, 2026, had also not been applied at ABSU.
Nwaeze also claimed that lecturers promoted between 2023 and 2026 had not received salaries reflecting their new ranks, and that some staff had outstanding unpaid salaries dating back as far as 44 months. He further alleged that union dues deducted from members had not been remitted to ASUU and that lecturers at the university had never received Earned Academic Allowances. He said cooperative deductions amounting to about N163 million were being owed by the government.
Comparison with Keke Drivers
To illustrate the salary gap, Nwaeze drew a comparison between ABSU professors and tricycle operators: "Did you know that most professors in ABSU earn less than N400k monthly? At this salary scale, a Keke driver who earns a daily net income of just N15k (many earn N20k & above daily) would earn more than a professor in ABSU (N15k x 30 = N450k per month)?" He noted that professors in federal universities and most state institutions earned between N1.3 million and N1.4 million monthly, compared to what he described as significantly lower figures at ABSU. He also alleged that more than 85 per cent of lecturers had stopped driving their personal vehicles and were supplementing their income through savings, borrowing, rental income and intellectual property royalties.
"Rather than receive a subsidy from the government, staff are the ones subsidising the state government," he wrote.
University's Response and Panel
In its response, the university management said it had established an investigative panel to look into the matter. The suspension, it said, takes immediate effect and will remain in place pending the panel's findings.
