127 Disengaged MOUAU Staff Demand FG Probe, Reinstatement …….. *Varsity absolves VC

The 127 disengaged staff of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, MOUAU, have called on the Federal Government to investigate their recruitment and subsequent layoff after five months of service without pay. The workers are also demanding immediate reinstatement, alleging unfair treatment.

But the university management has absolved the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ursula Ngozi Akanwa, of any involvement in the saga, attributing the mass disengagement to over-recruitment by the previous administration beyond the government-approved quota.

Last Monday, some of the affected staff addressed journalists at the NUJ Press Centre in Umuahia, narrating their ordeal and demanding justice.

Spokesman of the group, Eze Ejike, said they were issued legitimate appointment letters dated January 14, 2026, resumed duties in April, and worked for five months without salaries before being asked to surrender their identity cards.

They alleged that after a meeting addressed by the VC, they were herded into a hall and coerced to submit their ID cards and engagement letters.

In a statement signed by “Concerned Staff of MOUAU,” the workers explained that recruitment began after vacancies were advertised in October 2025. Applicants applied online, received appointment letters effective January 2026, and underwent biometric capture on the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) in Umudike.

“We resumed duties and were posted to various departments around April 2026, where we worked for about five months without receiving salaries,” the statement read.

According to them, about 553 staff completed capture but only 426 were uploaded for payment. “In July, the University paid one month salary to the 426 and asked the rest to stop coming to work,” they said.

They added that on July 16, they were assembled and asked to surrender their ID cards and sign termination forms “under duress.”

The aggrieved staff are now calling on the Federal Government, National Assembly, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Academic Staff Union of Universiyies (ASUU) and human rights organisations to probe the matter.

“We accepted the appointments in good faith, abandoned stable jobs, relocated our families, and devoted months of service to the university. We deserve fair treatment, transparency, and should be reinstated as bona fide staff,” they insisted.

Clarifying the issue, the University’s Head of Public Relations and Protocol, Anyaso Anyaso, said the recruitment and payroll capture were concluded before the current VC assumed office on March 1, 2026.

He said the Federal Government gave a waiver for the recruitment of 426 staff, a figure approved by the Governing Council and which the previous management was directed to strictly adhere to.

“Ironically, appointment letters were issued to 618 persons. 553 were captured on GIFMIS, but only the 426 approved positions were eventually uploaded for salary payment,” Anyaso said.

“Suffice it to state here that the Vice-Chancellor has no access to the GIFMIS platform to either remove or change any name uploaded,” he added.

The University urged the public to disregard “insinuations being peddled by mischief makers” and to rely only on official channels for accurate information.