The Academic Staff Union of Universities, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko branch, has declared an indefinite strike over the failure of the Ondo State Government to implement the 2025 agreement covering improved salaries and other conditions of service for academic staff.
The latest development comes amid an existing industrial dispute at the university, where academic activities have been disrupted following the non-payment of lecturers’ salaries for May and June 2026.
The ASUU-AAUA branch had earlier commenced an indefinite strike on July 10 after its members were not paid the two months’ salaries. The union said the action would continue until the outstanding salaries were paid.
However, the union’s concerns have now extended to the implementation of the 2025 agreement, which introduced a new salary structure and other provisions for university academic staff.
The Chairman of ASUU-AAUA, Comrade Bolu Oshodi, said the branch had completed the necessary internal procedures for further industrial action over the failure to implement the agreement and was awaiting the required approval from the union’s national leadership.
The 2025 agreement has become a major source of disagreement between ASUU branches and several state governments, with the union demanding that provisions agreed with the Federal Government be implemented across state-owned universities.
At AAUA, the union maintains that the new salary structure should take effect from January 2026. Oshodi said several universities, including Ekiti State University, Benue State University, Osun State University, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology and Kwara State University, had commenced implementation.
He also said AAUA, the Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology and the University of Medical Sciences remained among the Ondo State-owned universities yet to implement the new salary structure.
Beyond the new salary structure, the union is demanding payment of salary arrears dating back to January 2026.
The dispute has also been linked to the financial relationship between the state government and the university. According to ASUU-AAUA, the monthly government subvention of about N223 million is insufficient to meet the university’s salary obligations, which the union puts at approximately N550 million monthly.
The union further raised concerns over an N1.1bn intervention fund reportedly approved by the Ondo State Government to address outstanding salary obligations. ASUU said the funds had reportedly been released to the university but had yet to reflect in workers’ accounts at the time of its latest statement.
The development has heightened uncertainty over the resumption of academic activities at AAUA, with students potentially facing further delays in lectures, examinations and other academic programmes.
The Students’ Union Government had previously appealed to students to remain calm following the commencement of the strike over unpaid salaries.
The renewed disagreement also reflects a wider challenge confronting Nigeria’s state-owned universities, where differences over funding, salary obligations and implementation of agreements have continued to generate industrial disputes.
In July, ASUU branches at other state universities also raised concerns over implementation of the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU agreement, with the union warning that agreements reached through negotiations must be implemented to prevent further disruption across the university system.
For students of AAUA, the immediate concern remains the restoration of normal academic activities. However, the union’s latest position indicates that resolving the salary arrears alone may not completely settle the dispute, as implementation of the 2025 agreement and related financial obligations have become central to the ongoing disagreement.
ASUU has therefore maintained pressure on the Ondo State Government and the university management to address the outstanding issues, with the resolution of the dispute expected to determine when academic activities can fully resume.
