The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) chapter, has restated its dedication to strengthening national development through high-quality teaching, impactful research, and meaningful community service.

Speaking during the 2025 ASUU Day celebration held on Thursday at the Governor Peter Mbah Auditorium, ESUT’s Agbani campus, Acting Chairperson Comrade Andrew Apeh encouraged members to remain committed to academic excellence and to the ongoing struggle for improved welfare.

“As academics, we must continue to mentor our students, uphold standards, and contribute to national growth,” he said.

Apeh emphasized the need for unity among staff and a renewed push for the union’s welfare demands, insisting that their wellbeing must not be politicized.

“Our welfare is a fundamental right. It must be addressed squarely and without delay,” he stated.

Invoking Nelson Mandela’s famous quote, “The greatest glory in living lies not in never failing, but in rising every time we fail,” Apeh urged academic staff to persist in asserting their rights.

He expressed deep concern over the wide disparity in salaries between ESUT lecturers and their colleagues in other state and federal institutions.

“It is disheartening that our counterparts have been earning double our salary for nearly a year now. Meanwhile, we continue to struggle as our meagre earnings no longer align with current economic realities,” he lamented.

Apeh demanded the immediate implementation of the 25% and 35% wage award increments, a comprehensive salary review based on national benchmarks, and the settlement of the long-overdue Earned Academic Allowance (EAA) pending since 2008.

“This situation is urgent. ESUT staff have endured enough. We call on the state government and university management to act quickly,” he added.

In his remarks, the Chairperson of ASUU at Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Comrade Zubairu Abdulmumini Loko, commended the union for decades of resilience, describing ASUU as “unbroken, unbent, and unbowed.”

Loko painted a stark picture of the harsh realities faced by Nigerian academics.

“We teach like philosophers but are paid like apprentices. Our research builds nations, yet we work with facilities that should be kept in museums,” he said.

“No serious nation neglects its academics and expects to progress. Empower academics today, and Nigeria will transform tomorrow,” he asserted.

Loko also stressed the importance of wellness, stating that even lions rest.

“You cannot lead a revolution with blood pressure higher than school fees. Wellness is strategy, not weakness.”

He called on ESUT staff to stay united, mentor junior colleagues, strengthen union structures, safeguard their health, and fearlessly oppose injustice.

“If the system refuses to hear us, we will raise our voices even louder,” he declared.

Earlier, National Resource Person Comrade Ofukwu Raphael Agbo criticized Nigerian university professors for their reluctance to challenge wrongdoing. He classified professors into three categories, noting that many remain passive because of fear and political pressure.

“ASUU stands as the last moral firewall protecting Nigerian universities from collapse. Someone must speak truth to power, even when power refuses to listen,” he said.

The Catholic Diocese of Kontagora has released an updated list of pupils and staff members still in captivity following the attack on St. Mary’s Catholic Schools, Papiri, in Niger State.

According to the diocese, the revised compilation, completed on November 24, shows that 265 people remain unaccounted for.

The breakdown includes five teachers, seven non-academic staff, 14 secondary school students, and 239 nursery and primary school pupils.

The victims were abducted on Friday, November 21, 2025, when armed bandits overran the school community in yet another major attack targeting schoolchildren.

Earlier, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) reported that 50 abductees had escaped and reunited with their families.

CAN also disclosed that a thorough recount revealed 315 people were initially abducted, a figure higher than early estimates, as some victims thought to have escaped were later discovered to be missing.

Images shared by CAN Chairman and Catholic Bishop of Kontagora, Bishop Bulus Yohanna, showed empty dormitories with scattered belongings, a grim reminder of the scale of the attack.

Bishop Yohanna appealed for calm and urged Nigerians to remain prayerful, assuring the public that church authorities were collaborating closely with security agencies to facilitate the safe return of the captives.

He debunked claims that the school had been warned ahead of the attack, describing such rumours as baseless.

Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu has declared a national security emergency, directing security forces to implement a full cordon around forests in Kwara State due to a surge in kidnappings and terrorist activities.

The President also ordered intensified aerial surveillance by the Nigerian Air Force in remote forest zones where the armed groups are believed to be hiding.