The Ondo State Government and tertiary institution unions have reached an agreement on the implementation of the new Federal Government and university unions’ wage structure and allowances.

This is contained in a statement made available to newsmen on Monday by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Ebenezer Adeniyan.

The agreement followed a series of meetings between officials of the state government, led by Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, and the leadership of labour unions in state-owned universities.

According to the statement, the unions involved in the meeting included the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, National Association of Academic Technologists, and Non-Academic Staff Union.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that academic and non-academic unions in the three Ondo State-owned universities are currently on a total and indefinite strike over unpaid allowances to members.

The statement said the meeting addressed outstanding issues relating to salary adjustments, allowances and other welfare matters affecting workers in the state-owned universities.

It added that a major resolution was the approval by Aiyedatiwa for the full domestication of the Federal Government-ASUU agreement on the Consolidated University Academic Salary Structure for academic staff of state-owned universities.

According to the statement, implementation of the resolution will take into account the peculiarities of the state.

It said that during the meeting, Aiyedatiwa described education as a cardinal priority of his administration, with a promise to the unions of his commitment to sustain industrial harmony in the state’s tertiary institutions.

“Our administration will continue to prioritise the welfare of workers, especially in the education sector, because we understand that a motivated workforce is key to academic excellence.

“We have approved the FGN-ASUU pact for our universities because we want our institutions to compete favourably and our staff to be at par with their counterparts elsewhere,” the statement read.

It said that the government would continue to engage stakeholders to ensure that the state’s tertiary institutions remained centres of excellence without incessant industrial action.

According to the statement, the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, chapter of ASUU, while speaking on behalf of the unions, commended Aiyedatiwa for approving the FGN-ASUU agreement for the state universities.

Source: punchng.com

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ALL eyes are back on tertiary education. While most federal universities are running smoothly, it is not the case at some state-owned universities. From Lagos to Plateau, Kaduna to Taraba, the age-long disruption of the academic calendar is rearing its head again at state-owned universities. State governors, who are basking in more resources than before, should address the underlying issues.

In the recent past, Nigeria’s public universities were infamous for lengthy strikes.

But President Bola Tinubu’s mantra to end lecturers’ strikes that had plagued the public university system appears to have worked so far. In January, the Federal Government increased salaries by 40 per cent. This has restored stability in these institutions.

Conversely, strikes have returned to some state-owned institutions.

The states have no genuine excuse. After Tinubu removed the petrol subsidy, floated the naira and expanded the tax net, including VAT, the sub-national governments are more buoyant than ever.

Since 2009, public universities have experienced persistent strikes, which Tinubu pledged to end. Until the Tinubu administration’s pact, the 2009 agreement of N1.51 trillion for the revitalisation of universities and the enhancement of salaries was poorly implemented.

The outcome is predictable. In the latest Webometrics ranking, the best is the University of Ibadan at No. 1,291 in the world. UI is followed by the University of Lagos (1,355) and the University of Nigeria (1,397). This is depressing.

At the core of the face-off is the December 2025 Federal Government-Academic Staff Union of Universities agreement. Essentially, the Federal Government increased lecturers’ salaries by 40 per cent.

Other key provisions include an annual credit allowance of N1.8 million for professors and between N840,000 and N870,000 per annum for academic readers, and enhanced pensions.

Ironically, Lagos, Tinubu’s home, is the latest state where ASUU has just declared a strike, following the breakdown in negotiations between the state government and the joint unions of the three universities in Lagos.

According to the ASUU chapters of Lagos State University, Lagos State University of Science and Technology and Lagos State University of Education, the government did not implement the 2025 FGN-ASUU agreement despite a 14-day notice.

In Kaduna, the ASUU state chapter at the Kaduna State University, Kakuri, recently ended its strike after Governor Uba Sani approved the implementation of the agreement from October 1.

A similar story is unfolding in Plateau State. After downing tools over the agreement, the ASUU chapter of the Plateau State University, Bokkos, terminated its strike on September 16.

It said the state government had agreed to implement its six-point demand.

But lecturers at the three state-owned universities in Ondo State are still on strike over the non-implementation of the FGN-ASUU pact.

On September 15, the ASUU chapter of the Taraba State University, Jalingo, issued a 14-day ultimatum to the state government to implement the agreement or face a strike. The ultimatum will expire on September 28.

These contradictions expose Nigeria’s flawed federalism. The centre was at the forefront of the negotiations with ASUU. While the Federal Government has gone ahead to implement the agreement, states are delaying implementation for reasons best known to them.

In many areas of national life, the Federal Government imposes its will on the federating units. The unbridled federal power is an overreach. In a federal jurisdiction, this is wrong.

So, state governments should not be under this overarching federal influence in the funding and administration of universities at the second tier of government.

The independence of states and the centre has a crucial inflexion point.

In this, private universities offer the best lesson. With their independence and self-funding system, the 182 private institutions determine the remuneration they can offer the academic and non-academic staff. Therefore, strikes over pay are non-existent in private institutions. With proper independence and control, it could also be so at state-owned universities.

State governments share in the blame. Currently, there are 69 state-owned universities in the country. Without proper preparation for funding, staffing and infrastructure, state governments establish multiple universities. This is ridiculous.

Some states have more than three universities. Thus, they find it difficult to cope with the financial and infrastructure demands of such institutions. But it is wrong to see universities as a political symbol.

After a spree, the Federal Government placed a seven-year moratorium on the establishment of new universities in a bid to address the issues at stake.

Therefore, the National Universities Commission should exercise its independence. It should thoroughly scrutinise the centre, the states and private entrepreneurs who bid to establish universities.

Source: punchng.com

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Staff of Federal Unity Colleges nationwide defied the Federal Government’s directive to resume academic activities on Monday, insisting that their indefinite strike over the concession of King’s College, Lagos, remains in force.

Recall that the college staff, under the auspices of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, had ignored the initial September 13 resumption date, maintaining that their stance was, “No reversal, no resumption.”

During visits to some Unity Colleges in Lagos and Ibadan on Monday, staff union members were sighted in front of the school gates, while parents largely stayed away despite the Federal Government’s resumption directive.

The Federal Government had, in a September 18 memo to principals of the Unity Colleges, directed that academic activities resume following the agreement it said was reached with the labour unions over the dispute.

The directive followed the Federal Government’s agreement on September 16 to suspend for two weeks the implementation of the planned management takeover of King’s College by the institution’s Old Boys’ Association.

The agreement was reached at a meeting between the education ministers and representatives of education-sector labour unions in Abuja amid protests and industrial action over the concession of the 117-year-old college.

Under the five-point agreement, the unions were to immediately suspend the industrial action, while the government assured workers that no staff member would be victimised for participating in the protest.

The parties also agreed to a two-week pause in the implementation of the takeover arrangement involving the King’s College Old Boys’ Association, while a seven-member committee would be constituted to review and negotiate the Federal Government’s agreement with the old students.

Another resolution was the redeployment of policemen from the premises of King’s College.

However, the Shehu Mohammed-led faction of ASCSN maintained that the agreement was not binding on it, accusing the ministry of subsequently negotiating with persons it said lacked the mandate to represent the association.

The union insisted that the industrial action remained in force until the issues in dispute were fully resolved.

In a September 18 letter to state branch chairmen, chapter chairmen, unit chairmen of Federal Unity Colleges and state secretaries, the union accused the Ministry of Education of undermining the September 14 agreement reached with ASCSN and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria.

The letter directed members to halt academic and administrative activities, constitute monitoring teams to enforce compliance and disregard any counter-directives from school authorities or ministry officials.

At King’s College, Lagos, the Chairman of the ASCSN chapter, Sam Enang, told The PUNCH that the school had not resumed.

“We have not resumed. The pupils are at home. We have not called off the strike,” Enang said.

Asked about the ministry’s circular directing schools to resume, he said, “The union says an indefinite strike is on and we have started that since yesterday.”

Enang linked the continued strike to the King’s College concession, alleging that the Ministry of Education had breached the agreement reached with the unions.

“The Federal Ministry of Education defied the agreement of the union by sending police to come to the college and beat up staff and even took a staff member’s child away. That means they have breached their agreement.

“And also, negotiating with a different body, that is a breach of agreement,” he said.

He said staff had been directed to remain on indefinite strike until the situation at King’s College was reversed.

“So, we have been asked to remain on indefinite strike until they reverse the situation at the college. So, nothing is working out here,” he said.

Enang said the strike was not limited to King’s College, insisting that workers in the 115 Federal Unity Colleges nationwide had been directed to remain on strike.

“All Unity Colleges, they are on indefinite strike as I’m talking to you, because of King’s College. And this notice has gone across all six geopolitical zones, and the 115 Unity Colleges we have across the country. No school has resumed,” he said.

He added that no student reported at King’s College on Sunday despite the government’s resumption directive.

“The students did not show up at all. They did not show up at all,” Enang said, attributing the development to communication between the union and parents.

“We have a platform to communicate to parents that they should not come. And the union too has also communicated to parents that nobody should show up,” he said.

The union chairman also alleged that the deployment of policemen to King’s College and the confrontation between security personnel and protesting workers contributed to the decision to sustain the strike.

The policemen, who had been deployed to the college following the confrontation between staff and members of the Old Boys’ Association, have since left the premises, according to Enang.

He alleged that the police spent two to three days at the school and that the gates were damaged during the confrontation.

Also affirming the continuation of the strike, the Chairman of ASCSN at the Federal Government College, Ijanikin, Lagos, Ayo Hundeyin, said the school had not resumed.

“We have not resumed. The pupils are at home. We have not called off the strike,” he said.

Hundeyin said workers were also concerned about what he described as plans to hand over other Unity Colleges to private interests.

“We are aware that there are similar plans to hand over Unity Colleges in Kano, Port Harcourt, and Ilorin. The education of our children is our priority, and we won’t support any privatisation of our schools,” he said.

The dispute has lingered following opposition from workers to the Federal Government’s decision to concession the management of King’s College to its Old Boys’ Association under a public-private partnership arrangement.

The Federal Government has maintained that King’s College has not been sold or privatised, stressing that legal ownership remains with it.

Education Minister, Tunji Alausa, also said the arrangement was an isolated case and would not be extended to other Unity Colleges.

“No. We’re not extending it. The government still has its responsibility,” Alausa said.

He said the government remained committed to funding the rehabilitation of other Unity Colleges directly, while exploring alternative funding mechanisms to address their infrastructure deficits.

Source: punchng.com

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