The Academic Staff Union of Universities in the Akure zone says it may shut down Ondo state-owned tertiary institutions if the state government fails to pay lecturers their outstanding allowances.
Speaking on Friday at a press briefing in the University of Medical Sciences, Ondo town, ASUU Akure Zonal Coordinator, Adeola Egbedokun, accused the Ondo government of ignoring the financial terms of the renegotiated FGN-ASUU agreement signed on January 14, 2025.
According to Egbedokun, the agreement took financial effect on January 1, 2026. It covers three major welfare packages: the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance, Earned Academic Allowance, and Professorial Allowance. Six months later, he said, lecturers in Ondo’s state universities and other tertiary schools are yet to receive any payment, and arrears keep piling up.
“This persistent inaction has directly affected the welfare of our members and is weakening the operations of the state university system,” he said. “What we need now is implementation, not more committees that only delay action while lecturers keep suffering.”
ASUU warned that the fallout goes beyond lecturers. The union said students, research output, accreditation, and the overall quality of graduates are all at risk if the issue is not resolved quickly.
The union is demanding immediate implementation of the agreement across all state-owned institutions in Ondo, payment of CATA, EAA and other allowances, and clearance of all arrears from January 1, 2026.
“If the government does not act with urgency, ASUU will be left with no choice but to deploy all lawful trade union measures to press home our demands,” Egbedokun warned.
Responding, Ondo Commissioner for Education, Igbekele Ajibefun, said the state had already started the process of domesticating the agreement. He noted that the pact was signed between the federal government and ASUU, and states are expected to adopt it.
“Most states have not implemented it yet, and none of the states in our ASUU zone has done so,” Ajibefun said. “But Ondo is already taking proactive steps toward implementation, and action will follow soon.”
The 2025 FGN-ASUU agreement is the first major renegotiation since the 2009 agreement.
