Workers under the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) and National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) have commenced an indefinite strike across three Ondo State-owned universities.
The unions directed their members to withdraw their services from Wednesday over the non-implementation of the federal government-unions agreement and unpaid allowances.
The affected institutions are Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko; Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa; and the University of Medical Sciences, Ondo.
The decision was announced in a jointly signed statement issued on Tuesday by Kunle Akinwonmi, secretary of the Joint Action Committee of Ondo State-Owned Tertiary Institutions (JAC-ODSTI), and Tayo Ogungbeni, its chairman.
According to the unions, the decision followed an emergency meeting of JAC-ODSTI leadership held earlier on Tuesday.
The development comes weeks after Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, approved a 60 per cent increase in the monthly subventions to all state-owned tertiary institutions in the state.
On August 18, the governor also approved the immediate implementation of the agreement reached between the Federal Government and university unions.
Ebenezer Adeniyan, the governor’s chief press secretary, said the approval, which took immediate effect, was designed to address long-standing welfare concerns and improve staff morale.
However, the unions accused the state government of failing to implement the announced measures.
They said the agreement had not been implemented in the August 2026 salary as promised, while the institutions allegedly received their old subventions without the approved 60 per cent increase.
“It is crystal clear that the state government is playing politics with our lives and wellbeing; therefore, we have no other alternative than to embark on this industrial action after the expiration of the 14-day ultimatum given to the government to do the needful,” the statement reads.
The unions said all clerical, administrative, technical, clinical and other services provided by their members across the affected universities had been withdrawn.
“To this end, all the clerical, administrative, technical, clinical and other services being rendered by our members in all the various universities in Ondo state are hereby withdrawn until our CONTTA and all other allowances attached to it are paid unconditionally from January 2026 to date, please.”
Chronicle NG reports that the strike is expected to affect non-academic and technical services across the three state-owned universities until the unions’ demands are addressed.
