Former Governor of Anambra State and Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, Mr. Peter Obi, has raised serious concerns over the prolonged non-payment of salaries to a group of teaching and non-teaching staff of Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka, describing their situation as both “shocking and heartbreaking.”
During an engagement with the affected workers, Obi was briefed on their five-year ordeal, with many employed between 2019 and 2020 but allegedly excluded from the federal government’s Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), thereby rendering them unpaid since their appointment.
“These are not cases of delayed payments,” Obi said. “These are people who have worked for five years without receiving a single salary.”
According to him, the workers’ appeals to both local and international bodies have yielded no resolution. The consequences of this prolonged neglect have been devastating — from evictions and broken homes to untreated medical conditions and reported deaths of some of the affected workers due to lack of access to basic healthcare.
Obi stressed that while national conversations often highlight underinvestment in education, the situation at UNIZIK reveals a deeper, systemic failure to honour even the most basic commitment to education workers.
“This is not just a labour issue; it is a moral and humanitarian one,” he emphasized. “A nation that neglects its educators and university staff undermines its own future.”
He called on the Federal Government to act with urgency by enrolling the affected staff on the IPPIS platform and ensuring the immediate payment of all outstanding salary arrears. He further insisted that the dignity of every Nigerian worker, especially those in the education sector, must be respected and upheld.
The situation has sparked renewed concern among education stakeholders and civil society organizations, who say it reflects a growing disconnect between national education policies and the welfare of those entrusted with implementing them.