The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) at Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, Tuesday staged a protest against the cancellation of the two-day off-duty palliative earlier approved by the Ogun State Government.

The workers, who gathered at the main gate of the university, carried placards with inscriptions such as “OOU management must obey the two-day directive as declared by the state government,” “JAC of SSANU and NASU says no to divide and rule,” and “Cancellation of two-day off duty is illegal”, amongst others.

The state government had, in September 2024, approved a two-day off-duty palliative for workers across the state to cushion the impact of fuel subsidy removal and rising transportation costs.

However, the non-teaching staff accused the university management of unilaterally withdrawing the arrangement without consultation.

They alleged that repeated letters and two seven-day ultimatums to the management yielded no response.

The protest also revealed growing tension between the non-academic unions and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), which the protesters accused of siding with the university management.

Speaking during the protest, the Chairman of NASU, OOU chapter, Comrade Adebola Odufuwa, said the unions were dissatisfied with the management’s decision and the perceived lack of concern for workers’ welfare.

“We are here to express our dissatisfaction with the management for cancelling the two-day off duty approved by the state government to cushion the effects of subsidy removal,” he said.

“We wrote to the management twice and gave them seven-day ultimatum each to reverse the decision, but we received no response. Instead, ASUU began speaking for management, and we do not understand their interest in this matter.”

Odufuwa lamented that many staff spend between ₦2,000 and ₦5,000 daily on transportation, depending on their distance from the university.

He urged Governor Dapo Abiodun to set up a visitation panel to investigate the university’s affairs, alleging high-handedness and threats of mass dismissal by the management.

Also speaking, the JAC SSANU Chairman, Dr. Adedeji Lamina, reiterated the call for a visitation panel, noting that the last one took place over a decade ago despite statutory provisions mandating such panels every five years.

“The management has violated the state’s directive on the two-day palliative, and there are frequent threats to sack staff. This administration has taken more workers to disciplinary committees than any before it.

“Recently, 250 academic staff were employed, but none from the non-teaching cadre, we are accused of being too many. This is unfair and unacceptable.”

He further accused the management of polarizing the unions through divide-and-rule tactics, citing ASUU’s recent statement against the protesting unions as evidence of internal division.

The unions wonder when ASUU became the spokesperson of the management.

“For instance, we started the contributory pension scheme since 2008 but they, ASUU started about three years ago, they can be claiming that the payment is up but what about those of us who have been paying since 2008 and our money are still hanging in the balance?

"And if a union is writing against another union, it only goes to show that the management has polarized the unions using divide and rules tactics which is wrong.

“We call on Gov Dapo Abiodun to please set up a visitation panel to visit the university and address this imbalance,” Lamina said.

When contacted, the Vice-Chancellor of OOU, Prof. Ayodeji Agboola, dismissed the allegations as false and misleading.

“All that the unions said are tissues of lies and outright misinformation, I have scheduled a press briefing for Wednesday to present a detailed response with facts and figures,” the VC said.