By Joy Nlebedum, Ginger Eke Collins and Anyim Sunday

The Vice-chancellor of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU) Prof. Ursula Ngozi Akanwa has charged newly admitted postgraduate students to turn their knowledge and research into practical solutions that will positively impact society.

Delivering her address, the Vice-chancellor represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research and Development, Prof. Princewill Ogbonna gave the charge at the 4th Orientation Exercise for the 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 Academic Sessions of the Postgraduate School, held at the Senator Anyim Pius Auditorium.

Congratulating the students on their admission, Prof. Akanwa urged them to pursue their studies with discipline, intellectual curiosity, hard work and responsibility. She encouraged them to engage critically in research activities that will bring solutions to societal challenges.

She reaffirmed Management’s commitment to providing an enabling environment for postgraduate education and impactful research through innovation, digitization, entrepreneurship and strategic partnerships.

While speaking at the event, the Dean, Postgraduate School, Engr. Prof. Ogbonna I. Okoro, gave an overview of the School and highlighted the academic rules and regulations guiding postgraduate studies.

He explained that the orientation was designed to acquaint students with postgraduate procedures and expectations, while promoting effective time management, productivity and timely completion of programmes.

The Dean urged the students to maintain productive relationships with their supervisors, undertake independent research and maximize the University’s academic environment. He further reiterated MOUAU’s zero tolerance for extortion, sexual harassment, examination malpractice, intimidation, cultism and other forms of academic misconduct, charging the students to uphold integrity and responsible conduct throughout their studies.

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By Sunday Anyim Okorie, Joy Nlebedum and Ginger-Eke Collins

The Vice-Chancellor, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU), Prof. Ursala Ngozi Akanwa, has expressed the University’s readiness to deepen strategic international partnerships that will advance research, innovation, scholarship exchange, capacity building for the University’s global visibility.

Prof. Ursula Ngozi Akanwa, stated this while receiving a high-level delegation from the University of Waterloo (UWaterloo), Ontario, Canada, led by Mr. Grant Leach, Senior Recruiter and Business Development Strategist at the University.

Prof. Akanwa described the visit as a valuable opportunity to connect MOUAU’s academic and research expertise with global partners, stressing that the University remained open to collaborations capable of creating meaningful opportunities for researchers, academic staff and students.

She emphasized that strategic international partnerships would enable the University to strengthen research development, knowledge exchange and sustainable development, particularly in areas where collaborative efforts could produce measurable impact.

The engagement, held at the Conference Room of the Vice-Chancellor in the presence of the University’s expanded Management team, provided an opportunity for both institutions to explore areas of mutual interest and pathways for sustainable collaboration.

The University of Waterloo delegation, which included Dr. Adra Raine, Associate Director, Pan-African Initiative for Research (PAIR), and Prof. Onyeka Ezeh, Professor of Linguistics, presented opportunities available to prospective partner institutions.

Mr. Leach and other members of the delegation highlighted University of Waterloo’s research ecosystem, innovation platforms, academic networks and opportunities for international collaboration.

In a reciprocal presentation, the Director, Directorate of Advancement, MOUAU, Prof. Kennedy Onyelowe, showcased the University’s academic, research and infrastructural strengths, particularly in agriculture, science, technology, innovation and other multidisciplinary fields.

Prof. Onyelowe’s presentation highlighted the expertise and institutional resources available at MOUAU and demonstrated its potential as a strategic partner for international institutions.

The meeting subsequently featured an open exchange on possible areas of collaboration, with both institutions exploring practical ways of translating the identified opportunities into sustainable partnerships.

The engagement marks another step in MOUAU’s drive to strengthen its international profile, expand collaborative research opportunities and position itself as a globally competitive institution.

Academic activities at Abia State University (ABSU), Uturu, may grind to a halt as the university’s branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has declared a total, comprehensive, and indefinite strike over what it described as the government’s persistent failure to implement agreements and address outstanding welfare demands.

The strike takes effect Tuesday, August 11, 2026, following a congress of the union held at the Pre-Science Block of the university.

The ASUU-ABSU Chairperson, Dr Chidi S. Mba, and Secretary, Dr Victor U. Obisike, noted that the ASUU National Executive Council (NEC) after reviewing reports from the branch leadership and zonal structures directed all academic staff to withdraw their services immediately, saying the union had exhausted all avenues of dialogue with the university authorities and the Abia State Government.

The union said its decision followed several letters, meetings and consultations with the Chairman of the Governing Council, Pro-Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor and representatives of the state government over unresolved welfare and salary-related issues.

According to Mba, the branch congress had on July 8 given the university management and state government until July 22 to satisfactorily resolve the outstanding issues, warning that failure to do so would trigger industrial action.

Dr Mba expressed particular concern over the salary structure of academic staff, alleging that ABSU remains the only university in the ASUU Calabar Zone still paying lecturers based on the 2009 salary structure, while deductions are made in accordance with the 2024 tax structure.

He described the situation as “unjust and dehumanising,” stressing that the union had made repeated efforts to have the matters affecting members resolved.

The ASUU chairman said the National Universities Commission (NUC) had already transmitted the 2025 salary agreement to state governments, while ASUU branches had also forwarded the agreement through their respective vice-chancellors. “Despite several letters, meetings and consultations with government representatives, the agreement is yet to be implemented in Abia State University,” he said.

“For clarification and emphasis, Abia State University is the only university in the Calabar Zone of ASUU that has refused to honour the agreement. As we speak, the branch is facing several challenges and the university management and state government are not doing anything to ameliorate the situation” The chairperson said.

The union also accused the authorities of failing to implement promotions already earned by academic staff.

According to ASUU-ABSU, promotion exercises have been concluded and affected staff issued promotion letters, with financial implementation expected from specified dates. However, many lecturers have allegedly remained on their old salary grades for more than two years.

The union said the situation had created serious disparities, with some lecturers promoted to Professor allegedly still receiving the salary of Senior Lecturer, while promoted Senior Lecturers continue to receive salaries attached to lower ranks.

Mba described the situation as one in which staff “work like elephants but are paid ant salaries,” arguing that denying workers the financial benefits of their promotions was demoralising and undermined productivity.

Dr Mba who spoke to newsmen after the congress said ASUU-ABSU listed seven major outstanding demands which it said had remained unresolved despite repeated engagements with the government and university authorities.

They include:

1. Payment of omitted salaries to affected members.

2. Proper placement of staff on the appropriate salary levels following earned promotions and immediate payment of the financial benefits attached to the promotions.

3. Payment of 11 months’ outstanding check-off dues deducted from members.

4. Implementation of the 2025 CATA Salary Structure for academic staff.

5. Implementation, payment and mainstreaming of the Earned Academic Allowance (EAA).

6. Payment of Professorial Allowance.

7. Remittance of about ₦165 million deducted from staff salaries to the ASUU Cooperative Society.

The union said the current executive, which assumed office in 2023, had consistently pursued dialogue and constructive engagement with the government in a bid to preserve industrial peace and prevent disruption of academic activities.

It, however, said repeated meetings and assurances had failed to produce concrete results. “Members have exercised remarkable patience and demonstrated commitment to sustaining peace and uninterrupted academic activities. However, that patience has been stretched beyond its elastic limit,” the union stated.

ASUU-ABSU therefore directed all members to completely withdraw their services and comply with the strike directive. The union maintained that its demands were not new but centred largely on the implementation of agreements and entitlements already reached or earned. It called on the relevant authorities to urgently intervene and resolve the disputes, warning that the strike would continue until the outstand

ing issues are satisfactorily addressed.