By Nwobodo Chidinma

The Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, ESUT Branch,  Dr. Andrew Apeh, has described the recently held ASUU Day as a significant milestone in promoting staff welfare, health awareness, and academic motivation within the union.

 Dr Apeh who spoke with ESUT Monitor in his office, said the occasion was centred on welfare, health care, and recognition of members’ contributions to the growth of the union, the university and humanity. He noted that one of the major achievements of the day was the payment of entitlements to retirees, who received ₦400,000 each in cheque as part of the union’s commitment to supporting its members.

The Communication Scholar attributed the increasing cases of “unexpected deaths” among lecturers, to poor health management adding that the ASUU Day in ESUT was designed to address members’ concerns. Thus medical practitioners from various fields were invited to conduct free health checks, including eye screening, distribution of medicated glasses, prostate examinations, sugar level tests, and other medical assessments.

According to him, “this health outreach served as an eye opener for lecturers to take their health more seriously. The union would not only talk about health issues but also take practical steps to support its members.”

The event also featured celebration of newly promoted professors for the 2023–2024 academic session, as well as recognition from previous years. A resource person from the National Presidency, Prof. Nonny Charles, was present to educate and interact with members.

He expressed appreciation to ASUU members for their strong support and active participation in the event. He also used the opportunity to appeal to the government to review lecturers’ salaries and align them with national standards, expressing hope that meaningful progress would be made before January.

“We appreciate our governor, Dr Peter Mbah for his disruptive leadership in Enugu State. We also wish that he can look into our salary for immediate review. A situation where a Professor is earning less than N500, 000 in our society with crunch economic challenges coupled with the Naira depreciating every day, impacts severely on our members. When lecturers are well taken care of, students ultimately benefit, as improved welfare enhances teaching, productivity, and academic excellence, ” he said.