Governor Peter Mbah has approved an additional N115 million monthly subvention for the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), as part of efforts to address concerns surrounding the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), ESUT chapter.
The additional funding will raise the state government’s monthly subvention to ESUT from the current N161 million to N276 million, representing a cumulative increase of N140 million since February 2026.
The Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, who made this known in a statement on Monday, said the additional funding underscored the administration’s commitment to strengthening ESUT’s capacity to meet its financial obligations, particularly its responsibility to staff and the continued delivery of quality academic services.
“Governor Mbah has demonstrated once again that his administration places the welfare of workers and the uninterrupted education of our young people at the heart of its priorities. This additional N115 million monthly intervention is a substantial commitment of public resources aimed at strengthening ESUT and ensuring that the institution can meet its obligations to its staff and students,” Prof. Onyia said.
He explained that prior to February 2026, the state government was providing N136 million monthly to ESUT. However, beginning in February, the government commenced an additional monthly intervention of N25 million specifically for the ESUT College of Medicine (ESUCOM) to support the payment of 120 additional staff, bringing the total monthly government support to the university to N161 million.
Prof. Onyia said the latest approval of an additional N115 million would raise the state government’s total monthly subvention to ESUT to N276 million.
He further said the increase would help ESUT towards achieving the salary agreement reached between ASUU and the Federal Government.
He appealed to ASUU members at ESUT to reciprocate the government’s intervention by suspending the industrial action and resuming academic activities, in the interest of students whose academic progress may be disrupted by the strike.
“We appeal to ASUU-ESUT to reciprocate this gesture by resuming academic activities, while all outstanding issues are addressed through constructive dialogue. Our students should not be made to bear the consequences of disagreements that can be resolved amicably,” the SSG said.
The SSG reaffirmed Governor Mbah’s commitment to the welfare of workers and the sustained development of ESUT, saying the substantial increase in government funding demonstrated the priority the administration places on education and the uninterrupted academic calendar.
He urged all stakeholders, including the university management and ASUU, to embrace dialogue and work collaboratively towards resolving the outstanding issues, stressing that the ultimate objective should be to ensure that ESUT students receive uninterrupted and quality education.
He further assured the university community that the Mbah administration would continue to support ESUT within available resources, while taking necessary steps to strengthen the institution and position it to fulfil its mandate as a leading university of science and technology.
