ASUU, Unions Suspend Strike at Three Ondo Varsities

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has suspended its strike at Ondo State-owned universities, following the intervention of the state government in an industrial dispute that had disrupted academic activities for several weeks.

The Chairman of ASUU at Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), Prof. Boluwaji Oshodi, confirmed the development in a telephone interview on Monday. He said the Ondo State Government had made financial interventions to address the issues that led to the strike, prompting the union to call it off. A congress has been scheduled to formally direct members to resume academic activities. "The government of Ondo State has intervened financially, and a congress to direct all our members to resume academic activities has been scheduled," Oshodi said.

The development came alongside a parallel suspension by the Joint Action Committee of Ondo State-Owned Tertiary Institutions (JAC-ODSTI), which brings together the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT). In a statement jointly signed by JAC-ODSTI Secretary Kunle Akinwonmi and Chairman Tayo Ogungbeni, the committee said its own indefinite strike, which began on September 2, 2026, had been suspended with effect from Tuesday, September 29, 2026.

The statement credited Governor Lucky Orimisan Ayedatiwa's financial intervention with resolving the crisis that had affected Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko; Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa (OAUSTECH); and the University of Medical Sciences, Ondo (UNIMED). "We wish to inform the general public that the indefinite strike is hereby suspended with effect from Tuesday, 29th September, 2026," the committee said, directing all affected members across the three institutions to resume duties.

The Ondo dispute had earlier drawn criticism from the Academic Staff Union of Universities' Benin Zone, which condemned the state government for allowing the strike to stretch beyond 30 days while accusing it of gross underfunding of the three institutions and delays in implementing the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU agreement. At the time, the zone had contrasted Ondo's pace unfavourably with neighbouring Edo and Delta states, which it said had already moved to implement the agreement, including paying arrears owed to university workers from January 2026.

With both ASUU and the non-academic unions now confirming suspension, the resolution brings to an end a shutdown that had kept students away from lectures at all three institutions for close to a month, in the case of the non-academic unions' strike, and considerably longer for ASUU's own action. The Ondo settlement adds to a broader pattern seen across Nigeria's state-owned tertiary institutions throughout 2026, where prolonged strikes tied to the 2025 FGN-ASUU agreement and related welfare grievances have affected universities in states including Nasarawa, Imo, Plateau, Anambra, Lagos, and Benue, with resolution timelines varying considerably depending on how quickly individual state governments moved to engage union leadership and release funds.

For students at AAUA, OAUSTECH, and UNIMED, the suspension offers a pathway back to lectures, practicals, and other academic activities after weeks of disruption, though the precise timetable for resuming suspended coursework and any rescheduled examinations will likely depend on how quickly university administrations coordinate the return to normal operations following the congress ASUU has scheduled to formally direct its members back to work.