Academic staff of three state-owned tertiary institutions in Osun State have given Governor Ademola Adeleke a 15-day ultimatum to approve the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance (CATA) and Earned Academic Allowance (EAA), or risk a withdrawal of academic services.
The ultimatum was issued on Tuesday by the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) chapters of Osun State Polytechnic, Iree; Osun State College of Technology, Esa-Oke; and Osun State College of Health Technology, Ilesa.
Addressing a press conference at the ASUP Resource Centre, Iree, the union said it had exhausted all avenues of dialogue and was left with no option but to go public.
Speaking for the three chapters, the ASUP Chairman of Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, Comrade Sikiru Folorunso, said CATA and EAA were not fresh demands, but products of negotiations between the national union and the Federal Government to improve conditions of service and support teaching, research and technical training.
He said while the Federal Government had already implemented the allowances for staff of federal polytechnics, including arrears from January 2026, their counterparts in Osun-owned institutions were still excluded.
According to him, lecturers in state polytechnics perform the same duties, operate under the same National Board for Technical Education standards and train graduates for the same labour market, and therefore should not be treated differently.
“Federal polytechnics have been paid the allowance, and the arrears from January have been fully settled to their employees,” Folorunso said.
The union pointed to Ondo State, where it said the allowance for August, September and October 2026 had been paid, with a promise to clear the January-to-July arrears in two batches before year-end. It added that Ekiti State had also implemented the allowance.
ASUP further questioned why polytechnic lecturers in Osun were left out while universities in the state had already received their own newly introduced allowances.
“We do not begrudge our university colleagues a single kobo. But we ask a simple and fair question: why should the Polytechnic sector be the only one excluded?” the union queried.
The lecturers traced their engagement with the state government to June 2026, when they wrote to chairmen of governing councils, provosts, rectors and registrars of the affected institutions on June 9 to notify them of the development.
According to them, they attended a meeting at Osun State College of Education, Ila-Orangun, on July 11 alongside heads of tertiary institutions, registrars and bursars.
They added that they _later wrote to Governor Adeleke on July 27 and August 5, with the second letter also raising the absorption of contract and Internally Generated Revenue staff into the workforce of tertiary institutions.
“The ASUP national secretariat, the union said, sent reminders on August 12 and August 27, with copies to the Head of Service, Secretary to the State Government and Commissioner for Education.
“The latest letter, conveying the 15-day ultimatum, was submitted to the Governor’s Office on October 27.”
Despite the exchanges, the union said it had not secured a one-on-one meeting with the governor to present its demands directly.
It stressed that the ultimatum had the backing of the national leadership of ASUP and was not a unilateral action by the chapters.
The union urged Adeleke to approve the implementation of CATA and EAA, direct the relevant authorities to commence payment, including arrears from January 2026, and grant it an audience.
It warned that failure to respond positively would compel it to convene an emergency meeting to decide the next line of action in line with the directive of its national body and the union’s constitution, which could include withdrawal of services.
“We do not want this. Our students do not deserve disruption. Our parents do not deserve uncertainty. Our institutions do not deserve a shutdown,” the union said.
“But our members also cannot continue to be treated as the only academics in the state who are left out. The responsibility for avoiding any disruption now rests with the government.”
ASUP appealed to its members to remain calm and law-abiding, and urged students and parents to understand that the action was aimed at securing better conditions for those who train students.
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