Ondo Faces ASUU Strike Threat Over Unpaid Lecturers’ Benefits

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Akure Zone, has warned of a possible industrial action in Ondo State over what it described as the government’s failure to implement agreed welfare packages for lecturers in state-owned tertiary institutions.

The union said the state government had yet to enforce the financial provisions of the 2025 agreement reached between the Federal Government and ASUU, despite the deal taking effect from January 1, 2026.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday at the University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED), Ondo, the ASUU Akure Zonal Coordinator, Adeola Egbedokun, accused the state government of neglecting its obligations under the agreement signed on January 14.

He said the prolonged delay had continued to worsen the welfare of lecturers and could disrupt academic activities if the situation remained unresolved.

According to him, although the Ondo State Government received the agreement and was fully aware of its responsibilities, it had failed to implement its provisions.

“Despite receiving the agreement and being fully apprised of its obligations, the Ondo State Government has continued to actively ignore its provisions,” Egbedokun said.

He noted that the agreement, described as the first comprehensive pact between the Federal Government and ASUU since the 2009 agreement, provides for the payment of the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance (CATA), Earned Academic Allowance (EAA) and professorial allowance to improve lecturers’ welfare and strengthen teaching and research.

Egbedokun lamented that six months after the implementation date, lecturers in Ondo State-owned tertiary institutions had not received any of the approved allowances, with outstanding arrears continuing to pile up.

He dismissed continued committee engagements by the government, insisting that what was required was immediate implementation of the agreement.

“What is required is implementation, not prolonged committee engagements that merely postpone government action while lecturers continue to suffer the consequences,” he said.

The ASUU leader added that the delay was already affecting not only lecturers but also students, research output, institutional stability, accreditation exercises and the quality of graduates produced by the affected institutions.

The union demanded the immediate payment of CATA, EAA, professorial allowance and other approved benefits, alongside the settlement of all outstanding arrears from January 1, 2026.

It also called on the state government to end what it described as unnecessary bureaucratic bottlenecks delaying implementation of the agreement.

Egbedokun warned that failure to address the issues promptly would compel the union to explore all legitimate trade union actions to press home its demands.

Responding to the allegations, the Ondo State Commissioner for Education, Igbekele Ajibefun, said the government had already begun the process of implementing the agreement.

He explained that although the agreement was signed by the Federal Government, each state was expected to domesticate it before implementation.

Ajibefun also noted that Ondo was not the only state yet to implement the agreement, adding that other states within the ASUU Akure Zone were in a similar position.

He, however, assured lecturers that the state government had taken proactive steps and would implement the agreement in due course.