By Elijah Ugani
Academic activities are set to resume at the University of Cross River State (UNICROSS) following the suspension of the nearly two-month-old strike by the institution’s branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) after the intervention of Governor Bassey Edet Otu.
The suspension was announced on Monday afternoon by the Chairman of ASUU-UNICROSS, Dr. Patrick Ushie, shortly after a meeting with the state government. He directed lecturers to return to work and asked students to resume academic activities on Tuesday.
The development brings relief to thousands of students who have been out of classrooms since the union embarked on a total and indefinite strike on May 19, 2026.
ASUU had declared the strike over 11 demands bordering on lecturers’ welfare, salary arrears, and the implementation of agreements reached with the Federal Government.
Among the union’s demands were the implementation of the 2025 FG-ASUU renegotiated agreement, payment of Continuous Academic Training Allowance, Earned Academic Allowance and other professional allowances, prompt payment of salaries not later than the third day of every month, improved government funding for the university, payment of arrears arising from the 35 and 25 per cent wage awards dating back to January 2023, outstanding promotion arrears and earned academic allowances from 2011, remittance of ₦11.9 million in check-off dues owed since 2017, payment of ₦69 million in cooperative deductions, and remittance of National Housing Fund deductions withheld since 2018.
At the onset of the strike, Dr. Ushie said negotiations with the university management had broken down after management attributed its inability to meet the demands to inadequate funding.
According to him, the university receives about ₦300 million monthly as government subvention but requires an additional ₦200 million to meet its financial obligations to staff.
As the industrial action entered its seventh week, the Cross River State Government initiated fresh negotiations with the union, leading to the establishment of a technical committee to review the issues raised by ASUU and recommend lasting solutions.
Governor Otu subsequently inaugurated a seven-member Technical Committee chaired by Prof. Uduak Effiong to undertake a comprehensive assessment of staff welfare, governance, and the university’s operating environment.
On July 14, the Governor met separately with the university management and student leaders, assuring them of his administration’s commitment to improving infrastructure and addressing welfare concerns. He pledged to provide additional operational vehicles for the institution, upgrade the university’s medical centre, and improve the internal road network.
The UNICROSS dispute had also drawn national attention after the ASUU Calabar Zone threatened to extend industrial action to state-owned universities in Abia, Akwa Ibom, Ebonyi and Cross River states over the failure of state governments to implement the 2025 FG-ASUU agreement.
The zonal leadership described the welfare situation at UNICROSS as particularly severe, alleging that lecturers had received only half salaries for years and that one member had died amid the prolonged hardship.
With the suspension of the strike, lecturers are expected to return to classrooms immediately, while students have been directed to resume on Tuesday, bringing an end to nearly two months of disruption to academic activities.