Aggrieved students of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State, on Thursday protested the 68-day industrial action by workers’ unions, demanding the prompt reopening of the university.
The students walked to the streets to show their displeasure over the protracted closure, which they said had hampered academic activity and created uncertainty for those nearing graduation.
The protestors barricaded the university’s main gate along the Owo-Ikare Expressway, brandishing placards with slogans including “Every pending graduate, shey na our lives be these?”, “NASU, NAAT, SSANU have joined strike,” and “Enough is enough.”
They urged the Ondo State Government and other stakeholders to resolve the issues causing the strike and restore academic activities immediately.
Speaking during the demonstration, Folagbade Ayoola, president of the Students’ Union Government, stated that the students had reached their limit and could no longer remain mute over the protracted shutdown.
Ayoola lamented that students were required to pay school fees while lecturers’ salaries remained unpaid and that repeated meetings and promises had failed to produce a long-term solution.
He said, “We cannot keep silent because we are really facing challenges in our university. Imagine students having to pay school fees while lecturers’ salaries are not being paid.”
According to him, the Academic Staff Union of Universities made its requests to the government, but the inability to receive the appropriate answer resulted in the start of the indefinite strike.
He stated that the students will continue to use legitimate ways to seek a settlement until the strike is called off.
The union’s General Secretary, Oluwatimileyin Amos, stated that the extended stay-at-home was causing uncertainty and difficulty for students, particularly those nearing graduation.
“We have been on strike for 68 days now, and something needs to be done. We need an immediate resolution and action because our students are suffering,” Amos said.
Unions in Ondo State-owned tertiary institutions demanded that the Federal Government/union agreement on workers’ welfare be implemented, prompting the industrial action.
The unions involved in the conflict include the Academic Staff Union of Universities, the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities, and the National Association of Academic Technologists.
Meanwhile, the Ondo State Government said that it has paid the remaining August arrears of the new subvention to state-owned tertiary institutions.
The government announced a 60% increase in subventions to universities on Thursday, as stated by Chief Press Secretary to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, Ebenezer Adeniyan.
The increase aims to meet salary obligations and improve the welfare of university workers.
The statement partly read, “This payment marks the commencement of the implementation of the 60 percent increment on subventions to the institutions, aimed at meeting up with salary obligations and improving welfare.
”Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa therefore appeals to the striking unions of the institutions to, in good faith, call off the strike and return to work in the interest of our students and the overall development of the state.”
