Another industrial crisis is looming in Oyo State’s education sector as the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Emmanuel Alayande University of Education, Oyo Branch, has threatened to withdraw its services over unpaid allowances and inadequate funding.
The warning comes as ASUU members at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, have commenced an indefinite strike, while doctors in the state have also embarked on industrial action over unresolved welfare and remuneration issues.
At Emmanuel Alayande University, the lecturers have given the Oyo State Government, the university management and its Governing Council until October 31 to take concrete steps towards implementing the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU agreement.
The union warned that it would begin a total shutdown of academic activities from midnight on November 1 if its demands remained unresolved.
In a statement dated October 29 and obtained by WestNG, the branch chairperson, Dr Michael Bamidele Ojo, said lecturers were struggling with unpaid allowances, promotion arrears and inadequate funding, which he claimed had made working conditions increasingly difficult.
Among the outstanding entitlements listed by the union are the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance (CATA), Earned Academic Allowance (EAA), Professorial Allowance, Hazard Allowance, Medical Allowance and promotion arrears.
ASUU also alleged that the university receives insufficient government subvention to meet its salary obligations and sustain essential academic activities.
Ojo said the union had held meetings with the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology and the Deputy Governor, while also engaging the university management and Governing Council, but claimed the efforts had failed to produce a satisfactory resolution.
The union appealed to Governor Seyi Makinde to intervene personally, insisting that its demands required urgent attention.
LAUTECH lecturers begin indefinite strike
The latest threat at Emmanuel Alayande University follows the commencement of an indefinite strike by ASUU at LAUTECH on Thursday, October 29.
The LAUTECH branch declared the action after the expiration of a 14-day ultimatum issued to the university management over the non-implementation of the 2025 FGN-ASUU agreement and outstanding staff entitlements.
The union is demanding the payment of outstanding Earned Academic Allowance and promotion arrears accumulated between 2013 and 2025, alongside the implementation of the agreement and the resolution of governance-related concerns.
ASUU said the strike would suspend lectures, examinations, laboratory activities, statutory meetings and other academic engagements until its demands were addressed.
The union’s decision followed engagements with the university management, which reportedly attributed the delay in implementing the agreement to inadequate funding.
The development puts academic activities at two state-owned universities at risk of disruption, with LAUTECH already affected and Emmanuel Alayande University facing the prospect of a similar shutdown.
Doctors’ strike adds to pressure on Oyo government
The disputes in the education sector have also coincided with industrial action by medical and dental officers in Oyo State.
Members of the Association of Medical and Dental Officers of Oyo State (AMDO) began a seven-day warning strike on October 26 over unresolved welfare, remuneration, recruitment and other employment-related demands.
The action has raised concerns about the delivery of healthcare services in government hospitals, with reports indicating disruptions at some facilities.
The doctors’ dispute follows months of engagements with the state government over their demands, including outstanding welfare issues and conditions of service.
Separately, resident doctors and other health workers at LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso, suspended a 50-day strike on October 16 after Governor Makinde gave fresh assurances that their outstanding welfare demands would be addressed by the middle of November.
The developments point to mounting labour pressures across Oyo State’s public education and healthcare institutions, although the disputes involve different unions, demands and timelines.
Union appeals to stakeholders
At Emmanuel Alayande University, ASUU said it did not want to embark on a strike because students would bear the consequences of any disruption to academic activities.
However, the union argued that lecturers could not continue working under difficult financial conditions while struggling to meet their personal and professional obligations.
It called on traditional rulers, religious leaders, parents, civil society organisations, labour unions, market associations, alumni and other stakeholders to intervene before its ultimatum expires.
The union also said the other five South-West states had implemented the 2025 FGN-ASUU agreement, leaving Oyo State behind.
With LAUTECH lecturers already on strike, doctors undertaking a warning action and Emmanuel Alayande University lecturers threatening to withdraw their services, the coming days will be crucial in determining whether further disruption can be avoided.
The Oyo State Government’s response to the unions’ demands will be central to resolving the disputes and limiting their impact on students, patients and other residents who depend on public institutions.
