Abia State Governor Alex Otti has taken personal responsibility for the recent strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) chapter at Abia State University (ABSU), describing the industrial action as avoidable.
The Governor made the remarks on Thursday during a public lecture organised as part of activities marking the 35th anniversary of the creation of Abia State. The event was held at the International Conference Centre, Umuahia, under the theme “The Rise of a New Abia.”
Otti explained that the strike occurred despite his earlier approval of the union’s demands. He attributed the problem to bureaucratic delays that prevented the prompt implementation of decisions already taken.
According to the Governor, the requests presented by ASUU were legitimate and had been carefully considered. He noted that the financial implications were already clearly stated in the memo submitted to him, making further delays unnecessary.
Otti expressed concern that bureaucratic processes could frustrate government decisions even after necessary approvals had been given. He said such administrative bottlenecks contributed to the industrial action at the university.
“I want to, on this podium, apologise to Abia State University as well. That strike was avoidable. The reality is that the work stops here. So, we failed. I failed. I failed them,” he said.
The Governor stressed that the incident had reinforced the need for greater efficiency and accountability among officials responsible for implementing approved policies. He said it was unacceptable for workers’ welfare issues to remain unresolved after the government had already approved the necessary measures.
Otti also highlighted his administration’s investments in ABSU and the Abia State University Teaching Hospital in Aba, noting that significant resources had been committed to renovating existing facilities and constructing new ones. He questioned why such infrastructure spending should not be matched by adequate attention to the welfare of university staff.
He maintained that government must be willing to acknowledge its failures rather than shifting blame to workers when administrative lapses affect them. Otti warned that bureaucratic delays capable of frustrating approved policies would no longer be tolerated, and that officials responsible for similar lapses in future would face consequences.
The Governor reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to strengthening public institutions, improving infrastructure, and prioritising human capital development and workers’ welfare.
The ABSU-ASUU chapter had commenced an indefinite strike on 11 August after the expiration of a 14-day ultimatum issued on 22 July. The union cited outstanding welfare and institutional demands, including the non-implementation of the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU agreement, irregular promotions, non-remittance of cooperative deductions, and outstanding Earned Academic Allowances dating back to 2009.
The industrial action was later resolved following the intervention of a committee led by the Secretary to the State Government. On 24 August, the state government announced that the outstanding issues had been addressed.
