Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The academic staff union of universities and other worker unions in Ondo State-owned tertiary institutions have suspended their industrial action after more than two months, directing members to resume duties on Tuesday, September 29, 2026. The suspension followed financial intervention by Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, which addressed the core financial issues that triggered the strike. However, the Academic Staff Union of Universities at the University of Medical Sciences, Ondo, has rejected the agreement, saying it was not invited to the negotiation meeting and that the terms do not address its own congress resolutions.
The Joint Action Committee of Ondo State-Owned Tertiary Institutions announced the suspension in a statement issued on Monday, September 28, 2026, in Akure. The statement was jointly signed by the committee’s Chairman, Comrade Tayo Ogungbeni, and Secretary, Comrade Kunle Akinwonmi. “Following the financial intervention of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa in the crisis that led to an indefinite strike on September 2, 2026, we wish to inform the general public that the indefinite strike is hereby suspended with effect from Tuesday, September 29, 2026,” the statement read. The affected institutions are Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko; Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa; and the University of Medical Sciences, Ondo.
The ASUU chapter at Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, had commenced an indefinite strike on July 10, 2026, over unpaid salaries and the non-implementation of the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU agreement. The Joint Action Committee, comprising the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, the Non-Academic Staff Union, and the National Association of Academic Technologists, began its own strike on September 2, 2026. The combined action shut down academic and administrative activities across the three state-owned universities for weeks, leaving students stranded and disrupting the academic calendar.
The Chairman of ASUU at AAUA, Professor Boluwaji Oshodi, confirmed the suspension in a telephone interview with Daily Trust on Monday. He said the Ondo State Government had made financial interventions to address the issues that led to the industrial action, prompting the union to suspend the strike. “The government of Ondo State has intervened financially, and a congress to direct all our members to resume academic activities has been scheduled,” he said. The Joint Action Committee also directed all affected members across the universities to resume duties on Tuesday, bringing an end to weeks of disruption to academic and administrative activities in the state-owned institutions.
The unions commended Governor Aiyedatiwa, the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Professor Igbekele Ajibefun, and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Special Duties and Union Matters, Comrade Bola Taiwo, for their roles in resolving the dispute. The committee also appreciated the Nigeria Union of Journalists and members of the public for their support during the industrial action. However, the unions warned that failure to promptly resolve the remaining non-financial aspects of the Federal Government-unions agreement could lead to another industrial dispute. They urged the managements of the affected institutions to commence immediate action on the outstanding provisions, stressing that their implementation was necessary to ensure lasting industrial peace.
But the suspension was not unanimous. The Academic Staff Union of Universities at the University of Medical Sciences, Ondo, rejected the agreement reached between the Ondo State Government and ASUU at Adekunle Ajasin University. The ASUU-UNIMEDO Chairman, Abraham Oladebeye, said the chapter was not invited to the meeting where the government and ASUU-AAUA negotiated the terms for resolving the industrial dispute. He said the agreement could not bind ASUU-UNIMEDO because it was reached at a meeting the union did not attend and did not address the resolutions of its own congress. According to him, the union had returned a letter from the Commissioner for Education because its contents did not meet the terms of the resolutions reached by ASUU-UNIMEDO.
Oladebeye said there had earlier been a general meeting involving the unions, but it ended with verbal assurances and a request for the managements of the affected institutions to submit documents showing the financial implications of implementing the new agreements. He said ASUU-AAUA was later invited to a separate meeting with the state government, while ASUU-UNIMEDO and ASUU of other universities in the state were not invited. He said it was at that meeting that the government proposed to commence implementation from August and pay salary arrears from January to July in two instalments before January next year. The ASUU-UNIMEDO chairman maintained that his union could not accept the outcome of a meeting it did not attend, particularly after examining the contents of the government’s letter and finding that it did not address its resolutions. He complained that the government had given AAUA special fund intervention, which was not extended to UNIMED.
The development means that while academic and administrative activities are set to resume at AAUA and OAUSTECH, the situation at UNIMED remains uncertain. The university’s ASUU chapter has insisted that its members remain on strike, and it is unclear whether the state government will engage the union separately to address its grievances. The Joint Action Committee, which represents non-academic staff, has directed its members at all three institutions to resume, but the ASUU-UNIMEDO position creates a potential complication for a full return to normalcy at the medical university.
The strike had a significant impact on students and staff across the affected institutions. The National Association of Nigerian Students had issued a 14-day ultimatum to Governor Aiyedatiwa in mid-September to resolve the strike, warning of planned protests if the situation persisted. The students’ association later suspended its planned protest after the governor promised to resolve the issues within two weeks. The suspension of the strike is a relief to thousands of students who had been at home for months, uncertain about when their academic programmes would resume.
The resolution of the dispute also reflects the broader challenges facing state-owned universities across Nigeria, where funding shortfalls and the non-implementation of federally negotiated agreements have repeatedly led to industrial action. The Ondo State Government’s financial intervention, including the release of funds to clear salary arrears, was a necessary step to end the strike. But the warning from the unions that non-financial aspects of the agreement remain outstanding suggests that the underlying issues have not been fully resolved. The university managements have been urged to act on those provisions to prevent another round of industrial action.
As members of the academic and non-academic unions prepare to return to work on Tuesday, the focus will shift to the resumption of lectures, examinations, and administrative activities that were suspended for weeks. For the students, the priority is to make up for lost time and complete their academic programmes. For the unions, the priority is to monitor the implementation of the financial commitments made by the government and the non-financial provisions that remain outstanding. For the Ondo State Government, the priority is to demonstrate that its intervention has not merely postponed the crisis but addressed the root causes. Whether that happens will determine whether the suspension of the strike marks the beginning of lasting industrial peace or merely a temporary pause before another confrontation.
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