Ondo varsity workers protest, begin indefinite strike

Workers at the Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology (OAUSTECH), Okitipupa in Ondo State, have commenced an indefinite strike, effective from midnight on Wednesday, September 2, 2026.

The workers, carrying placards, staged a peaceful protest at the institution’s main gate over the non-implementation of the 60 per cent subvention increase and agreement.

Some inscriptions on the placards read: ‘Enough of Fake Promise Aiyedatiwa’, ‘FGN/Union agreement supposed to begin in January 2026’, and “Where is the N1.2 billion for completion of Science building you promised years ago”, among others.

The unions include the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU), and National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT).

The Chairman of Joint Action Congress (JAC) of OAUSTECH, Bobola Bamigbola, told journalists that the strike was necessary to register their grievances over government’s refusal to implement the 60 per cent subvention.

Bamigbola added that the Ondo State Government had agreed to pay backlog of the subvention and other agreements from January but reneged on its promise.

Bamigbola disclosed that the Ondo State Government invited all Vice-Chancellors, Bursars, and Registrars of Ondo State Tertiary Institutions (ODSTI) to a meeting, where it promised the 60 per cent monthly subvention increase.

Non-academic unions begin indefinite strike in Ondo varsities

He said: “The old wage bill of N63 million was supposed to end by July, but it is the same thing we saw in August; as we’re expecting N179.2 million which was even supposed to be paid from January.

“We have no choice but to embark on a protest and a total and indefinite strike from 12 midnight today until all our demands and other agreements are met.”

SSANU, NASU, and NAAT under the aegis of JAC-ODSTI had, on Tuesday, directed members in all institutions to embark on an indefinite strike from midnight on Wednesday.

It protested the non-implementation of the federal government agreement and 60 per cent subvention from January after the lapse of the 14-day ultimatum.

The affected institutions are OAUSTECH, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), and University of Medical Science (UNIMED), Ondo.