Osun govt challenges ASUU claims on UNIOSUN governance, salary agreement

By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo –

The Osun State Government has rejected claims by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) over the implementation of the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU agreement and the governance of Osun State University (UNIOSUN).

The government, in a statement by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Oluomo Kolapo Alimi, said UNIOSUN had implemented the agreement even before the Federal Government and had commenced payment of the applicable arrears.

Alimi said the government respected ASUU’s right to advocate for its members’ welfare but needed to correct what it described as misleading claims. He said Governor Ademola Adeleke was the second governor, after Ekiti State, to approve the salary adjustment.

He said it was surprising that ASUU failed to acknowledge Osun among states commended for commencing implementation of the agreement, describing the omission as “mischief” and insisting that the Adeleke administration remained committed to staff welfare.

The government also faulted ASUU’s claim that the UNIOSUN Law was a domesticated version of the Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Act, 2012, saying the university was established and governed by a law enacted by the Osun State House of Assembly.

According to Alimi, UNIOSUN does not derive its existence, powers and governance structure from the Federal Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, but operates under its enabling law and the statutory framework governing the Visitor, Governing Council and other authorities of the institution. “The government therefore finds it difficult to understand the basis upon which ASUU, a trade union, seeks to substitute its interpretation for that of the constitutionally empowered institutions of government,” the statement read.

On the controversy surrounding the tenure of the Vice-Chancellor, the government said the matter had undergone the appropriate constitutional and legislative process, adding that the Osun State House of Assembly had exercised its authority to amend relevant provisions of the university’s establishment law.

The government urged ASUU to verify its facts before issuing statements that could unnecessarily inflame passions or create an impression of institutional instability, assuring that it would continue to honour its obligations to academic staff, support the university’s development and engage the union and other stakeholders through dialogue within the law.