Workers of the Ondo State-owned Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, on Monday staged a protest over the state government’s failure to implement the new national minimum wage.
The demonstration, organised by the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Polytechnics and backed by the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, took place at the institution’s main gate in Owo.
Speaking with journalists, the SSANIP Chairman at the polytechnic, Comrade Saka Olokungboye Nurudeen, decried what he termed years of abandonment of the institution by successive administrations in the state.
He said, “It is no longer news that staff of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, have been reduced to second-class citizens in Ondo State.
“While other workers in the state enjoy the new minimum wage, our members are still trapped on N18,000, a wage that became obsolete since 2019.”
Nurudeen recalled that after President Bola Tinubu signed the new national minimum wage into law in 2024, Ondo State began implementation in October the same year but left out polytechnic workers.
“For over 15 months now, other workers in Ondo State have been receiving the new wage, but staff of this institution were deliberately excluded. Several appeals by unions on campus have yielded no result. This is unjust and unacceptable,” he stated.
The union leader described the N18,000 minimum wage as grossly inadequate amid rising inflation and harsh economic conditions.
“Our members can barely feed their families. Many of them have become objects of ridicule in their communities. Landlords now see them as financially unstable. This is an embarrassment to workers who serve in a higher institution,” Nurudeen added.
Also speaking, the ASUP Chairman at the institution, Comrade Arikawe Ade, appealed to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to urgently address the issue.
“We appeal to the governor to rise to the occasion and correct this injustice. The minimum wage is not a privilege; it is a law. Our members deserve the same treatment as other workers in the state,” Ade said.
The unions accused the state government of making endless empty promises while workers continued to suffer.
“Ondo State belongs to all of us. We cannot continue to watch our members denied their legitimate entitlements while others enjoy theirs in the same state,” the SSANIP chairman declared.
The protesters vowed to sustain the action peacefully but firmly until their demands were met by management and the state government.
In a joint statement, the institution’s SSANIP Executive Committee said the protest was aimed at compelling authorities to immediately implement the new minimum wage for workers.
“For the people united can never be defeated. Our struggle is legitimate, and we will continue until justice is done,” the statement read.
