Academic activities at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, may face disruption following the commencement of an indefinite strike by medical and dental lecturers under the National Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA).
The lecturers announced the industrial action over what they described as the university’s failure to implement the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) approved for clinical academics by the Federal Government.
The decision was made public during a briefing held at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), where union leaders accused the institution of delaying compliance with directives already adopted in several Nigerian universities.
President of NAMDA-UNILAG, Prof. Ugboro Omotayo, said the dispute centers on salary disparities affecting medical and dental lecturers within the institution.
According to him, the continued placement of clinical academics under the Consolidated University Academic Salary Structure (CONUASS) has created unfair remuneration gaps and contributed to the shortage of experienced lecturers in the college.
He explained that the union is demanding the full implementation of CONMESS, payment of outstanding arrears from July 2024, and proper salary placement for newly recruited lecturers.
The association is also seeking the payment of Clinical Academic Teaching Allowance and other welfare-related entitlements for professors and senior clinical academics.
Omotayo maintained that the action became necessary after several meetings with the university management failed to produce concrete outcomes.
“This action is about fairness and compliance with approved government policy for medical academics,” he said.
The strike notice was formally communicated to the university management earlier in May, while a last-minute meeting held on Tuesday reportedly ended without resolution.
The development came as the Lagos Zone of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) raised concerns over what it described as poor implementation of agreements reached between university unions and governments at both federal and state levels.
At a separate briefing in Lagos, ASUU accused authorities of failing to fully implement financial agreements covering allowances, promotion arrears, salary adjustments, pension remittances, and withheld salaries owed to lecturers.
The union warned that unresolved welfare issues and inconsistent salary implementation were worsening the migration of experienced academics out of Nigeria’s university system.
ASUU Lagos Zone Coordinator, Adesola Nassir, said many universities were struggling to cope with the financial burden created by incomplete implementation of agreements signed with academic unions.
The union also criticised delays in remitting deductions made from lecturers’ salaries, describing the situation as harmful to industrial harmony within the education sector.
ASUU further urged the Lagos State Government to accelerate implementation of agreements affecting lecturers in Lagos State University, Lagos State University of Science and Technology, and Lagos State University of Education.
According to the union, continued neglect of lecturers’ welfare could further destabilise the university system and weaken the quality of teaching and research across institutions.
