BOKKOS — Academic activities at Plateau State University (PLASU), Bokkos, are on the verge of a total paralysis. The institution's branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has issued a definitive ultimatum to the Plateau State Government, threatening to embark on a "total, comprehensive, and indefinite strike action" if the state fails to immediately implement the new salary scheme for lecturers and clear all outstanding financial arrears.

The union expressed deep frustration over what it described as prolonged administrative neglect. In a strongly worded press statement jointly signed by the PLASU ASUU Branch Chairperson, Dr. Vincent Choji, and the Branch Secretary, Dr. Lomka Iliya Kopdiya, the union revealed that the formal Federal Government/ASUU agreement which details the upgraded national salary template was officially submitted to the university management in February 2026. Despite this early submission, state authorities have failed to migrate the lecturers to the new pay structure.

Economic Despair: "Worse Off Under the Old Scheme"

The striking lecturers highlighted the severe disconnect between their stagnant take-home pay and the current inflationary pressures gripping the national economy.

"Sadly, our members remain stuck on the old salary scheme despite the incredibly harsh economic realities that lecturers face on a daily basis," the leadership statement declared. "The purchasing power of our current salaries has been completely eroded by skyrocketing costs of living, yet we are expected to maintain the highest standards of research and instruction without any corresponding relief."

The union accused the Plateau State Government and the university’s central management of prioritizing institutional cosmetics and political optics over human capital welfare. According to ASUU, the university has aggressively expanded its student enrollment quotas and rapidly established a series of new faculties and academic departments to boast of institutional growth.

However, this structural expansion has occurred without any commensurate recruitment drives, forcing the existing, underpaid academic staff to shoulder unsustainable, crushing workloads.

"While the State Government and University Management have eagerly taken public credit for the institution’s expansion through increased student enrollment and the introduction of new faculties and departments, the resulting physical and mental workload on lecturers has been completely ignored," the statement read. "Our members are working harder than ever to teach, examine, and mold the character of thousands of students, yet their fundamental well-being is treated with absolute apathy."

A Fatal Toll: Shocking Loss of Academic Staff

In a deeply sobering disclosure, the union linked the worsening institutional conditions directly to the deteriorating health of its members. ASUU revealed that the combination of severe financial stress, overwhelming lecture schedules, and poor welfare has turned fatal, resulting in the sudden deaths of several senior academics.

"Tragically, in just the past few recent months, the union has lost at least four committed, highly qualified lecturers to acute stress and sudden heart-related complications," the executive committee stated.

Beyond the immediate salary dispute, the union listed several critical unresolved institutional grievances that have completely undermined campus life:

  • Severe Campus Insecurity: Ongoing safety anxieties stemming from the university's location, with inadequate security infrastructure protecting staff quarters and lecture halls.

  • Exorbitant Transportation Costs: The crushing daily financial burden placed on lecturers commuting to the Bokkos main campus due to the complete lack of subsidized staff transit schemes.

  • Deficient Staff Accommodation: A near-total absence of viable, state-funded housing options within or around the immediate university perimeter.

The Broken 2024 Memorandum: ASUU Demands Action

The union stated that the current impasse is part of a broader pattern of broken institutional promises, revealing that the Plateau State Government has entirely abandoned the core commitments it voluntarily entered into during the signing of the 2024 PLASU-ASUU Agreement.

To avert an immediate and prolonged shutdown of the entire university system, the union has demanded that the state government execute a four-point emergency intervention:

  1. Immediately implement the upgraded national salary scheme across all academic cadres.

  2. Direct the immediate release and payment of all outstanding salary arrears dating back to January 1, 2026.

  3. Inject immediate intervention funds to liquidate accumulating backlogs of pensions and gratuities for retired academic staff.

  4. Set up an immediate implementation committee to systematically address campus security, transport logistics, and outstanding items from the 2024 pact.

With the semester hanging in the balance, student union bodies and parental associations are watching the state government's next moves closely, hoping an emergency conciliation meeting can avert an indefinite closure of the state's premier tertiary institution.