Fund full minimum wage at Ondo Poly – ASUP appeals to Aiyedatiwa
By Boye Oyeyemi –
The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), Rufus Giwa Polytechnic chapter, has appealed to Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa to approve sufficient funds for the implementation of the new national minimum wage and the payment of outstanding salary adjustments at the institution.
The union made the appeal in a letter dated February 11, 2026, commending the governor for increasing the polytechnic’s annual budget but noting that the current allocation is inadequate to meet staff wage obligations.
The letter was signed by the ASUP Chairman, Comrade Arikawe Ade, and the General Secretary, Comrade Fapetu Damilola V., with copies sent to the Department of State Services and the Ondo State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress.
ASUP explained that although the polytechnic now receives an annual budget of N4.5 billion, with a monthly subvention of N375 million, the funds are insufficient to sustain workers’ wages due to unimplemented accumulated salary adjustments.
The ASUP chairman also stated that the institution has been excluded from key national salary increments enjoyed by other state-owned tertiary institutions, leaving staff on the outdated N18,000 minimum wage.
Arikawe warned that the situation could force a return to percentage-based salary payments, which he described as potentially catastrophic for the institution. He noted that the 25 per cent and 35 per cent consequential salary increments approved in 2023 were not implemented at Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, unlike in other state-owned institutions where both the increments and arrears are being paid.
The union also lamented that the N70,000 national minimum wage approved by President Bola Tinubu over 15 months ago has not been implemented, while staff continue to earn the N18,000 wage set in 2011.
Arikawe added that pension obligations, which consume about 43 per cent of the monthly subvention, have worsened the financial strain. He appealed to the governor for urgent intervention and reaffirmed ASUP’s loyalty and cooperation with the state government.
