The Joint Action Committee of Ondo State Tertiary Institutions (JAC-ODSTI) has rejected the Ondo State Government’s proposed 60 per cent increase in subvention to tertiary institutions, describing the adjustment as insufficient to address the issues behind the ongoing industrial action.
The union said its major demand remained the full and unconditional implementation of the 2026 Federal Government/Unions Agreement, covering both its financial and non-financial provisions.
The union, in a statement signed by its Chairman, Comrade Tayo Ogungbeni, said the increased subvention would not resolve the outstanding financial obligations owed to workers in the state’s tertiary institutions.
He maintained that the workers’ demand was not simply for an increase in institutional subvention but for the implementation of agreements reached between the Federal Government and unions.
Ogungbeni alleged that the government was considering measures aimed at weakening the industrial action, including attempts to divide the unions or sanction their leaders.
He warned that such measures could further worsen the situation and urged members of the affected unions to remain united in pursuing their demands.
He said the ongoing strike would continue until the financial provisions of the 2026 Federal Government/Unions Agreement were implemented and members received their outstanding payments.
According to the union, “the state government must implement the financial provisions contained in the 2026 agreement and pay all outstanding benefits owed to workers from January 2026 before the strike can be suspended.”
“Can this 60 per cent increment cater for the payment of our CONTTA and its associated allowances? The answer is an emphatic no,” the statement added.
It would recalled that Ondo state government had paid 60 percent increase on monthly subventions to the four state-owned tertiary institutions in the State, appealing to the striking unions of the institutions to call off the strike and return to work in the interest of our students and the overall development of the state.