The strike by lecturers at Taraba State University (TSU), Jalingo, has reached its ninth day on Wednesday. This has brought academic activities at the state-owned university to a standstill.
The state government has not yet announced any plans to pay the outstanding salary arrears that the lecturers are demanding.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), TSU chapter, started the indefinite strike on 12 October. They are protesting over the implementation of the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU remuneration agreement and the salary arrears that have been building up since January 2026.
The strike has halted lectures and ongoing examinations. This has left students confused about the future of their semester and the university's academic calendar.
ASUU-TSU chairman, Joshua Mbave, mentioned that the union has been in talks with the state government since February. They aimed to resolve issues related to the welfare of their members.
According to him, these discussions led to the creation of a verification committee. This committee was supposed to look into salary structures and how to implement the remuneration agreement in tertiary institutions across the North-east.
Mr Mbave said that the committee submitted its report on 24 September. This raised hopes that the government would act on its recommendations.
Unfortunately, he stated that the expected resolution did not happen, which pushed the union to go on strike.
“The union is not against dialogue,” he said. “But any new negotiation must be honest, have a timeline, and aim for a clear resolution.”
The situation worsened when the state government set up a new Tertiary Institutions’ Staff Remuneration and Workforce Planning Committee on 30 September. This committee was meant to review pay and workforce planning for state-owned tertiary institutions.
ASUU-TSU rejected this move, calling the committee unnecessary. They see it as an attempt to delay the implementation of previous committee recommendations.
The union insists that the government should stick to the existing recommendations. They believe there is no need for another committee to revisit matters already examined.
Besides the pay agreement and salary arrears, the lecturers are also demanding payment of unpaid Earned Academic Allowances. They want a functional contributory pension scheme for academic staff as well.
Muhammad Yahaya, a former vice-chancellor of the university, has urged the state government to keep its agreements with the union. He wants a resolution to this issue so students can get back to their studies.
Mr Yahaya cautioned that students should not have to suffer because of unresolved conflicts between the government and university management.
He also called for a reliable funding plan to stop these kinds of disputes over lecturers' welfare from coming up again.
Meanwhile, students are worried about the impact of the strike on their exams and possible delays in their academic progress.
Final-year students are especially anxious about how this might affect their graduation timelines.
The university management has asked students to stay calm and patient. They admit that the strike has interrupted ongoing exams.
They assured students that they are committed to dialogue and improving staff welfare. The management encouraged students to look out for official updates on exams and the return to academic activities.
The Taraba State Government has defended the new committee. They say it aims to ensure fair treatment of staff in tertiary institutions and to manage public finances responsibly.
However, the government has not yet announced when it will fulfill the lecturers' salary agreement or pay the arrears.
ASUU-TSU has stated that the strike will continue to be “total, comprehensive and indefinite” until their demands are met.
As the strike reaches its ninth day, students are still uncertain about when academic activities will start again. The issue of lecturers' pay and welfare remains unresolved.
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