Abia State University, Uturu has gone to war with one of its own — suspending a professor for daring to post what many lecturers whisper in staff rooms but never say out loud.
Professor Nnamdi Nwaeze, an economist in the Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences, was handed an immediate suspension on Wednesday after a viral Facebook post claimed ABSU professors earn less than tricycle operators in Umuahia.
—The Post That Triggered The Hammer—
In the now-infamous post, Prof. Nwaeze tore into ABSU’s pay structure amid an ongoing ASUU strike at the institution.
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“Are you aware that professors in all the federal and most state universities now earn between N1.3m and N1.4m as against what is obtainable in ABSU?” he wrote.
“Professors at ABSU earn less than N400,000 monthly, while some commercial tricycle operators earn more than N450,000.”
He didn’t stop there. The professor dragged politics into it, alleging that a local government councillor in Abia earns about N600,000 monthly, while a House of Assembly member takes home about N8 million net salary.
He also accused management of still paying lecturers on the 2009 ASUU/FG salary structure instead of the 2024 and December 2025 structures agreed nationally.
“I have refrained from discussing them publicly because I feared being labelled an ‘enemy of the state’ or accused of making a political statement,” he admitted.
—“Inimical To The University” — ABSU Responds—
The university wasted no time. In a statement issued Thursday by Deputy Registrar and spokesperson Chijioke Nwogu, ABSU said the post was “inimical to the interests of the university and uncomplimentary to the visitor of the university.”
The visitor is Governor Alex Otti.
An investigative panel has been set up. The suspension, Nwogu said, “takes immediate effect pending the outcome of the investigation.”
—APC: “He Is The Hero Of Abia Democracy”—
The suspension has now exploded into a political fight.
The Abia State APC fired back, calling Prof. Nwaeze “the hero of Abia democracy.”
In a statement signed by Assistant Publicity Secretary Eric Ikwuagwu, the party accused the Otti administration of intolerance.
“We cite the role of university lecturers and ASUU in Nigeria’s pro-democracy struggles during military rule. Today, a professor is being punished for speaking truth about salary deductions and a 2009 pay structure that should have died years ago,” Ikwuagwu said.
He added: “If the claims are false, investigate and prove it. But suspending him for speaking about lecturers’ welfare shows fear, not leadership.”
ASUU-ABSU is on industrial action over unpaid arrears, poor funding, and salary disparities.
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Prof. Nwaeze’s post has given voice to that frustration — and turned a labour dispute into a public scandal.
For students, it raises one uncomfortable question: If a keke man in Uturu can out-earn a professor with 20 years in the classroom, what does that say about the value we place on education?
ABSU management has yet to say when the panel will submit its report.
