The Joint Action Committee of Ondo State-Owned Tertiary Institutions (JAC-ODSTI) has appealed to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to implement the 2025 and 2026 budgetary allocations to tertiary institutions for optimal performance.

The JAC-ODSTI made this appeal in a communique jointly signed by Tayo Ogungbeni and Kunle Akinwonmi, its chairman and secretary, respectively, after the first-quarter congress on Friday at the Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology (OAUSTECH), Okitipupa.

The unions are the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANIP), the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT).

The Ondo State-owned tertiary institutions are OAUSTECH, Adekunle Ajasin University Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED), Ondo, and Rufus Giwa Polytechnic (RUGIPO), Owo.

The congress said it considered critical issues affecting staff welfare and the sustainability of tertiary education in the state.

It noted that several unresolved issues were negatively affecting staff welfare and the effective functioning of tertiary institutions in the state, in view of the contemporary global standards.

The congress, however, commended Mr Aiyedatiwa for the payment of the last tranche of the wage award and the release of the outstanding January 2017 subventions to state-owned institutions, saying that the efforts were positive steps toward addressing the long-standing financial challenges in the sector.

“We demand the full implementation of the 2026 approved budget for all state-owned tertiary institutions to enable them to meet their financial obligations to both staff and students. Congress recalled that the governor’s earlier acknowledgement over the 2025 budgetary allocations was not fully implemented and urged immediate corrective action to avert further institutional decline.

“Congress calls on the state government to urgently release the three months’ staff salary arrears to the staff of RUGIPO, earlier pronounced during the 2025 convocation ceremony of the institution. Congress also demands the immediate implementation of the ₦70,000 minimum wage for staff of RUGIPO, as against the current ₦18,000 being paid.

“Congress also expressed deep concern over the continued delay in the release of the report of the staff verification and audit exercise conducted across the various tertiary institutions in 2025; we urge the state government to make the report public without further delay,” the communique read.

It also noted that the eight-year tenure of the current governing councils of the state-owned institutions would expire in March and called for the urgent constitution of the councils.

“We warn that failure to reconstitute the new governing councils within the stipulated time may compel us to withdraw recognition for all the affected councils.

“The congress reaffirms its commitment in the interest of staff welfare, institutional stability, and the advancement of tertiary education in the state,” the communique stated.

It, however, congratulated the government and people of the state on the success of the recently concluded golden jubilee celebration.

(NAN)