Academic activities at the Ebonyi College of Education, Ikwo, have ground to a halt following the commencement of a one week warning strike by the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), Ebonyi chapter, over what the union describes as years of neglect, unpaid salary structures and abandoned retirees.

The strike, which began on Monday, has suspended lectures, examinations and other academic programmes at the institution. Chapter Chairman Dr Ama Nnachi said the action became unavoidable after two separate ultimatums, spanning 14 days and seven days respectively, expired without any meaningful response from the Ebonyi State Government or institution management.

At the centre of the dispute is the failure to implement the 2024 salary structure approved by the Salaries and Wages Commission. Nnachi said that as of 2026, lecturers at the Institution are still being paid under a framework tied to the ₦18,000 minimum wage introduced over a decade ago. "Some staff who have worked for 20 to 22 years earn less than ₦30,000 in today's Nigeria. With a litre of fuel selling above ₦1,500, how do they survive?" he asked. "Our members are dying almost daily because of hardship. This is no longer just about salaries; it is about survival," he added.

The situation for retired staff was described as equally dire. COEASU raised alarm over the non payment of pensions and gratuities to retirees who left service years ago with nothing to show for decades of work. Two retirees who spoke to reporters confirmed this directly. Celestine Oke said he retired in 2022 and has received neither his pension nor his gratuity since then. "I survive from hand to mouth," he said. Samuel Uwalaka added, "We are suffering. Our colleagues elsewhere have been paid, but we have been left behind."

A lecturer who spoke anonymously said the problem extends beyond salaries. "All the infrastructure in the Institution are funded by external interventions. The only duty of the government is to pay salaries, and that is not being done," the source said.

COEASU has warned that if the state government does not act before the warning strike expires, an indefinite industrial action will follow, leaving students with no clear timeline for when examinations and lectures will resume.