PETER OBI CALLS FOR URGENT ACTION ON UNIZIK STAFF UNPAID FOR FIVE YEARS. (PHOTO).

 Peter Obi Calls for Urgent Action on UNIZIK Staff Unpaid for Five Years

Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, has demanded immediate federal government intervention to address the plight of teaching and non-teaching staff at Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka, who have reportedly gone without salaries for five years.

Obi made the appeal following a meeting with the affected workers on Friday, where they shared their “shocking and heartbreaking” ordeal. Employed between 2019 and 2020 with valid appointments, these staff members have been excluded from the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), leaving them without their lawful earnings.

“This is not merely a case of delayed salaries but total exclusion from the federal payroll system,” Obi stated, highlighting that the workers’ repeated petitions to various authorities, both within Nigeria and abroad, have yielded no results.

Obi described the dire consequences of this neglect, including evictions, family breakdowns, untreated medical conditions, and even deaths among staff unable to afford basic healthcare. Condemning the situation as a reflection of systemic failure, he argued that neglecting educators undermines Nigeria’s future. “This is a moral and humanitarian issue. A nation that fails to pay its university staff disrespects their dignity and jeopardizes its own progress,” he said.

He urged the federal government to promptly enroll the affected workers into IPPIS and clear all outstanding salary arrears. Obi also noted that this crisis reflects broader issues in Nigeria’s public universities, where academic and non-academic staff face persistent salary delays, inadequate funding, and poor working conditions.

The situation at UNIZIK has sparked renewed calls for reforms to ensure the welfare of educational workers across the country.