Gov. Mbah Increases Esut Subvention To N276m, Appeals To ASUU To Suspend Strike

 Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State has approved an additional N115 million monthly subvention for the Enugu State University of Science and Technology, ESUT, raising the state government’s total monthly funding to the institution from N161 million to N276 million.

The governor also appealed to the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, ESUT chapter, to suspend its ongoing strike and return to the classrooms, assuring that outstanding issues would be addressed through constructive dialogue.

The Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, disclosed this in a statement on Monday. He said the latest intervention brought the cumulative increase in the state’s monthly subvention to ESUT to N140 million since February 2026.

According to him, the additional funding was aimed at strengthening the university’s capacity to meet its financial obligations, particularly its responsibilities to staff and students, while ensuring 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,” Onyia said.

The SSG explained that before February 2026, the state government provided N136 million monthly to ESUT. In February, an additional N25 million monthly intervention was introduced for the ESUT College of Medicine, ESUCOM, to support the payment of 120 additional staff, bringing the total monthly government support to N161 million.

He said the latest N115 million increase would bring the government’s monthly subvention to N276 million and assist ESUT in meeting the salary agreement reached between ASUU and the Federal Government.

Onyia appealed to ASUU-ESUT members to reciprocate the government’s intervention by suspending the industrial action and resuming academic activities to prevent further disruption to students’ academic progress.

“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,” he said.

The SSG reaffirmed Governor Mbah’s commitment to the welfare of workers and the sustained development of ESUT, stressing that the substantial increase in funding demonstrated the administration’s priority for education and an uninterrupted academic calendar.

He urged ESUT management and ASUU to embrace dialogue and work collaboratively towards resolving the outstanding issues. He assured the university community that the Mbah administration would continue to support ESUT within available resources and take necessary measures to strengthen the institution and position it to fulfil its mandate as a leading university of science and technology.