The management of Abia State University, Uturu (ABSU) has lifted the suspension of Professor Nnamdi Nwaeze of the Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences, weeks after he was suspended over a Facebook post in which he criticised lecturers’ pay and claimed that tricycle operators earn more than university professors.
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The university announced the decision in a letter dated September 3, 2026, signed by its Acting Registrar, Joy Nwankwo.
“Following a written plea from ASUU-ABSU, the university management hereby lifts your suspension effective immediately,” the letter stated.
The university, however, made it clear that the recall does not terminate the investigation into allegations of misconduct against the professor.
According to the Acting Registrar, the decision to lift the suspension was made without prejudice to the work of the investigative panel constituted by the institution, whose final report is still being awaited.
Nwaeze was suspended in August following a Facebook post made against the backdrop of industrial action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, at the institution.
In the post, the professor reportedly claimed that professors at ABSU earn less than ₦400,000 monthly, arguing that some tricycle operators could earn more than university academics.
Following the lifting of his suspension, Nwaeze, in another Facebook post on Saturday, thanked Nigerians who supported him and spoke against the disciplinary action, describing the development as a “momentary victory.”
He, however, expressed reservations over the university’s decision to keep the investigation open, describing his recall as only a “momentary reprieve.”
“While it has become difficult and unfashionable to continue with the ill-fated and provocative suspension, they have merely retreated but haven’t surrendered to good conscience and justice,” he said.
Nwaeze also praised Abia State Governor Alex Otti for what he described as the governor’s role in facilitating his recall, while maintaining that those behind his suspension should still be called to order.
The professor alleged that the decision to lift the suspension was a “Greek gift” intended, in part, to prevent ASUU-ABSU from resuming its suspended industrial action after the expiration of its September 4 ultimatum.
He further alleged that the university was attempting to buy time while searching for grounds on which to sanction him.
“Secondly, but more importantly, they offered this Greek gift in order to buy time and continue to shop for non-existent offences that could be ascribed to me in order to achieve a premeditated and prejudiced outcome, either to silence me, sack me, or drag my highly reputed name through the mud,” he said.
Nwaeze maintained that he was neither above investigation nor incapable of wrongdoing, but insisted that he had committed no offence against the university or the Abia State Government.
He also alleged that his suspension was politically motivated, claiming he had previously appeared before different panels in the university over the past two to three years without being found culpable.
“My ordeal is politically engineered. Let me put it on record that before now, I have been hunted and subjected to several different panels in the past two to three years, of which fortunately none has indicted me,” he said.
The professor further alleged that the latest disciplinary action formed part of what he described as continued persecution, adding that he believed ABSU was being used as an instrument in the dispute.
Nwaeze nevertheless insisted that his public comments on governance and other issues had remained civil and respectful, maintaining that he had never defamed Governor Otti or his office.
“Let me state here that I will stoutly resist every attempt to intimidate, hoodwink, malign, victimise, or cow me into silence and oblivion.
“I believe that I have the legal, mental and moral fortitude to defend myself and guard my hard-earned credibility and integrity,” he said.
The professor also expressed concern about his personal safety in the university and in Abia State, saying he was taking lawful measures to protect himself.
With his suspension now lifted, Nwaeze is expected to resume his academic duties while the university awaits the report of the investigative panel.
The allegations of political persecution and predetermined disciplinary action remain Nwaeze’s claims, and no finding by the investigative panel establishing those allegations has been made public.
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