Nigerian varsity workers disrupt convocation, demand N35,000 wage award

Staff from the Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology in Okitipupa, Ondo State, disrupted the convocation event with a protest seeking a N35,000 pay award for state personnel since November of last year.

Protesters under the auspices of the Joint Action Committee of all Tertiary Institutions have been on an indefinite strike action over the matter since last week.

They carried placards of various inscriptions such as, ‘All we are saying, pay us wage award,’ ‘ We deserve N35,000 wage award, pay us,’ ‘ Wage award is our right don’t deny us ,’ ‘ We patronise the same market, pay us N35,000 wage award,’ among others.

Chairman of JAC, Comrade Dayo Temola, said the State Government ignored their demand for the payment of the wage award and some other allowances.

According to him: “Our joint demand is that they should pay us our N35, 000 wage award that had been paid to all categories of workers in the state.

“We are also demanding implementation of 2019 minimum wage. We are in 2024, yet we have not gotten 2019 minimum wage.

“It is shameful and we patronise the same market with other workers who have been receiving .

“Everybody knows what is currently going on in the country even our current salaries can’t take us to the office again for a month.

” We also demand that the monthly subvention of the school should be increased by 100 percent.

“The government promised us N91million on paper and has been giving us N63milliion. It is far low to the wage bills of the university as we speak the university is owning billions of naira from cooperatives and some other allowances. That is our agitation.”

Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa who was at the institution for the convocation ceremony appealed to the angry workers and scheduled a meeting with the union leaders of the university on Tuesday.

Aiyedatiwa promised to give consideration to the the institution’s monthly subvention of N91m to enhance operations of the school.

He said his administration would release N1.2bn in the 2024 budget for speedy completion of abandoned projects in the school.

Several abandoned projects littered the institution that it was tagged “University of abandoned project”.

Aiyedatiwa also promised to facilitate completion of the abandoned hostel buildings being funded by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC) without further delay.

Aiyedatiwa further announced automatic employment to the best graduating student, Adedayo Taiwo Janet.