“We’ve only read about it in newspapers” — Union chairman says no official communication received from Ondo Government
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA) Branch, has declared that its ongoing indefinite strike will continue until the Ondo State Government fully addresses its demands—despite the government’s recent approval of a 60 per cent increase in monthly subventions to state-owned tertiary institutions.
The union’s chairman, Prof. Boluwaji Oshodi, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Akure, responding to the government’s intervention which also included the immediate implementation of the FG/ASUU agreement to tackle welfare concerns.
No Official Briefing
Oshodi revealed a critical communication gap, stating that the union had not been officially briefed on the terms of the government’s intervention and had only learned about the development through media reports.
“For now, everything we read is still in the newspapers. Nobody has given us any official information. The governor has not been interacting with the union; he has only been interacting with the management. So, as we speak now, we do not have the facts aside from what we have been reading on the pages of newspapers,” Oshodi stated.
Unresolved Demands
The branch chairman maintained that the industrial action continues, insisting that the union’s key demands remain unresolved.
“The strike has just started, the way it is now, if what we are reading is true, then the issues have not been addressed. We have been talking about two major issues – the implementation of the FGN/ASUU 2025 agreement and the payment of salary arrears starting from January. The government said implementation should commence immediately, but we don’t know what that ‘immediately’ means. The issues have not been addressed,” he added.
Background
ASUU-AAUA had declared a total and indefinite strike on August 11 over the non-implementation of the 2025 FGN-ASUU agreement and the non-payment of accumulated salary arrears owed to its members since January.
As the standoff continues, students and academic activities remain paralysed, with no clear end in sight to the industrial action.
