The management of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU) has terminated the appointments of 127 employees, five months after they resumed duty, citing what it described as a shortfall in the federal recruitment waiver granted to the institution.
The affected workers, who spoke in Umuahia on Monday, said they were recruited in October 2025 following what they understood to be federal approval for the exercise.
Speaking on behalf of the affected employees, spokesperson Eze Ejike alleged that the situation emerged after the appointment of the university’s new Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ursula Akanwa.
“The current VC, Prof. Ursula Akanwa, came in while we were undergoing documentation. Immediately she assumed office, she called us for a meeting and asked us to brace up in our new jobs, stating that as long as we had been captured by officials from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, we had nothing to fear because we were in the mainstream,” Ejike said.
He explained that the affected workers were later informed that only a limited number of appointments were covered by the approved waiver.
“On Monday, July 13, the VC called us for another meeting and informed us that there was a development and that the waiver the university got was for 426 positions.
“She said those not among the 426 would not be paid and should stop coming to work.”
Ejike added that while 426 employees subsequently received their salaries, the remaining 127 workers were directed to surrender their identity cards and complete exit documentation.
The affected employees have appealed to President Bola Tinubu, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the National Assembly, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), and civil society organisations to intervene.
“We legally got the jobs, and we merited them,” Ejike said.
