Ondo State Government and University Unions Settle Wage Dispute

The Ondo State Government and university unions have agreed to use the pay structure and allowances of federal universities.

This agreement came after several meetings between the state government officials, led by Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, and leaders of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), and Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU).

The governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Ebenezer Adeniyan, shared the news in a statement on Monday.

He said this agreement follows weeks of strikes that disrupted academic and administrative work in state-owned universities. The strikes were due to unpaid allowances and failure to implement agreements made with federal university unions.

In early September, SSANU, NASU, and NAAT started an indefinite strike in the state, asking for their allowances and the agreements to be implemented. After that, ASUU also went on strike over issues related to the 2025 federal government-ASUU agreement and salaries.

The state universities affected include Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology (OAUSTECH), and the University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED).

“Rising from the meetings, both parties agreed to a resolution of all outstanding issues related to salary adjustments, allowances, and other welfare matters,” the statement said.

One major resolution was Governor Aiyedatiwa's approval for the full implementation of the federal government-ASUU agreement on the Consolidated University Academic Salary Structure (CONUASS) for academic staff in state-owned universities.

This development follows earlier disagreements between the government and unions over the wage agreement.

In August, workers in state-owned tertiary institutions gave the government a 14-day ultimatum to implement the agreements made with federal university and polytechnic unions. They also asked for payments of outstanding salaries from these agreements.

The government then approved a N1.1 billion fund for Adekunle Ajasin University to help pay overdue salaries owed to its workers.

But ASUU insisted that just paying the salary arrears would not solve the issue. They still wanted the 2025 FGN-ASUU agreement to be fully carried out.

The long-running dispute also brought pressure from students. The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) canceled a planned protest earlier this month after Governor Aiyedatiwa promised to resolve the issues within two weeks.

In the statement from Monday, Governor Aiyedatiwa said education is a top priority for his administration. He promised to maintain peace in the state’s tertiary institutions.

“Our administration will keep prioritizing workers' welfare, especially in education, because we know a motivated workforce is essential for academic success.

“We have approved the FGN-ASUU agreement for our universities because we want our institutions to be competitive and our staff to match their peers elsewhere,” he said.

The government stated it will keep engaging with stakeholders to ensure that state tertiary institutions remain centers of excellence and avoid constant strikes.

ASUU at Adekunle Ajasin University praised the governor for approving the federal government-ASUU agreement for state-owned universities.