On Monday, employees of Ugep, the erstwhile Institute of Technology and Management, protested in Calabar over six months’ worth of unpaid salaries.
The workers said that since January 2025, when the Cross River State Government transferred ITM to the recently founded Federal Polytechnic, Ugep, they have not been paid salaries.
Although the state had committed to absorb the workers into the federal system, the demonstrators stated they are still working without pay or clear direction about their future.
“We need our payment. We have to feed our families. Please beg the government for us, we need money; our families need to survive,” said Emilia Oden, one of the protesters.
FPU has taken over ITM’s facilities and moved its operations to the campus, but many ITM staff say they have been abandoned during the transition.
The protesting workers travelled over 100 kilometres to the Governor’s Office in Calabar, singing solidarity songs and holding placards that read messages like “Government, we want our payment!”
While some union leaders stayed outside under strict security, others were permitted to enter the facility in anticipation of a meeting with Governor Bassey Otu.
Following a previous protest in Ugep, Obol Ofem, the Paramount Ruler, voiced his concerns and pledged to bring up the matter with the governor.
As of the time of filing this report, the state government had not issued any official response.
