Academic and administrative activities in Ondo State-owned tertiary institutions are set to be paralyzed as workers under the Joint Action Committee of Ondo State-Owned Tertiary Institutions (JAC-ODSTI) have declared a 14-day warning strike over unpaid wages by the state government.
This action follows the expiration of a seven-day ultimatum issued on June 2, which the state government failed to respond to, a development the workers described as the final trigger for their decision to down tools.
The affected institutions include Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA); Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa; University of Medical Sciences, Ondo (UNIMED); and Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo.
In a statement issued by the JAC-ODSTI, the committee accused the state government of insensitivity to the lingering issues affecting staff welfare and institutional funding.
According to the unions, repeated efforts to engage the government have failed, despite several letters and a personal meeting with Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa on May 1, 2025.
“The promises made to us have not been fulfilled. We are still being owed several months of salary arrears, including the failure to implement the National Minimum Wage, non-payment of arrears from previous minimum wage adjustments, and the failure to pay the last tranche of our Wage Award,” the statement read.
The committee also decried the non-payment of gratuities to retired staff and six months’ salary arrears owed to workers at Rufus Giwa Polytechnic.
“All members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANIP) in all affected institutions are hereby directed to proceed on the warning strike,” the committee declared.
The strike, which will commence on July 19, 2025, will be total with no exceptions, they emphasized, warning that any member who reports to work during the period will be considered a saboteur and will face disciplinary action.
JAC-ODSTI is now calling on stakeholders, including political leaders, traditional rulers, and religious figures in Ondo State, to intervene urgently and help prevent a complete breakdown of academic activities across the institutions.
The union warns that failure to address their demands within the warning period may lead to an indefinite and total shutdown of tertiary education in the state.
