Staff members of tertiary institutions owned by the Ondo State government have given Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa’s administration a 14-day ultimatum to include them in the 2024 national minimum wage structure of the state.

The staff said they are prepared for a showdown and will disrupt academic activities across the state’s tertiary institutions if the government refuses to implement the National Minimum Wage for them.

In a letter addressed to Mr Aiyedatiwa on Monday, the aggrieved staff members alleged that they had been excluded from the state’s wage structure.

Protesting under the umbrella of the Joint Action Committee (JAC), the tertiary institution members lamented that civil servants in the same cadres as them have already been enjoying the benefits of the new wages.

The committee—comprising the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANIP)—also expressed frustration over the continued neglect of tertiary institution workers in the implementation of the 2024 National Minimum Wage and related salary adjustments.

“While civil servants in Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) are benefitting from the minimum wage, staff at institutions like Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko; Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa; the University of Medical Sciences, Ondo; and Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, have been left behind, despite the approval of budgetary allocations for 2025,” they said in the copy of the letter signed by JAC.

Noting that their fight is not just about wages but about justice, equity, and the dignity of labour, they said their alleged exclusion from the national wage structure has caused them severe hardship and financial difficulties.

The staff also said many of them are now struggling to meet basic living expenses amid the rising cost of living in the country under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

According to them, several previous meetings with government representatives and a communiqué issued in February 2025 have yielded no meaningful response, instead deepening their frustration.

While demanding Mr Aiyedatiwa’s urgent intervention, the aggrieved staff members said the state government’s continued silence is unacceptable and unfair.

They further highlighted that arrears from the 2019 minimum wage have not been paid, and wage award payments remain incomplete.

The staff members also demanded the immediate payment of withheld subventions dating back to January 2017, full implementation of the approved 2025 budgetary allocations, and the settlement of unpaid pensions and gratuities for retired staff.

The spokesperson for the governor, Ebenezer Adeniyan, was not immediately available for comment when contacted by Peoples Gazette on Monday.

However, a government source revealed that the process of payment for the tertiary institution staff is being addressed, adding that the office of the Head of Service would be meeting the protesting members soon.

He, however, explained that Mr Aiyedatiwa has not hidden his administration’s love and commitment to the education and welfare of tertiary institution members in the state.

“Don’t forget that the governor has been paying the subventions for the schools with some of them even getting an increase in their allocations.

“So, Aiyedatiwa did not hide his passion for the growth and development of education, and he has made promises which he’s fulfilling,” the source said.