Workers at Adekunle Ajasin University Akungba Akoko, Ondo State, have halted activities at the institution due to the alleged failure of the university to implement the N35,000 palliative wage award approved to mitigate the effects of fuel subsidy removal. The workers, represented by the Joint Action Committee of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, the Non-Academic Staff Union, and the National Association of Academic Technologists, stated that the staff members of the university have not received the palliative since its payment began in Ondo State in November 2023.

The protesters are appealing to the state government and the school authorities to ensure that they receive the payment, as other state workers have been receiving theirs, while employees of tertiary institutions in Ondo State have been left out. Comrade Tayo Ogungbeni, the Chairman of the Joint Action Committee of the Ondo State Tertiary Institutions and the AAUA, emphasized that the protest aims to assert the workers' right to the payment of the wage award agreed upon by the federal and state governments in collaboration with labor unions for all workers in Nigeria.

Ogungbeni highlighted that all workers in Ondo State have been receiving the payment except those in tertiary institutions, including Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko. He stressed the workers' entitlement to the palliative wage award and called for an increase in the subvention given to the AAUA, the immediate opening of the university main gate, and the payment of entitlements to re-absorbed staff and retirement benefits to retired staff.

Comrade Ekundayo Abiodun, the Chairman of the Non-Academic Staff Union, affirmed that the association would persist until their demands were addressed. He expressed dissatisfaction with the exclusion of state-owned institutions in Ondo State from receiving the palliative wage, describing it as unfair. He also warned of further action if the government did not heed their demands.

In response, the university’s Deputy Vice Chancellor, Professor Adebisi Adaramola, acknowledged the workers' grievances and assured them that the university was making efforts to ensure the state government paid the money. He urged the union to be patient with the authorities, emphasizing that the university was aware of the situation and was actively seeking a resolution.

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