Students of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), Ondo State, on Thursday took to the streets to demand an end to the prolonged industrial action that has kept the institution’s academic activities on hold for 68 days.

The protest, led by the Students’ Union Government (SUG), saw students barricade the university’s main gate and adjoining roads linking the institution to the major highway, disrupting vehicular movement around the university community.

The students, who expressed frustration over the prolonged stay at home, carried placards with various inscriptions, including “Enough is Enough,” “NASU, NAAT, SSANU have joined strike” and “Every pending graduate, shey na our lives be these?”

They called on the Ondo State Government and other stakeholders to urgently resolve the issues responsible for the strike and ensure that students return to their classrooms.

Addressing journalists during the protest, the SUG President, Folagbade Greatness Ayoola, said the students could no longer remain silent over the situation, particularly as the prolonged closure was affecting their academic programmes.

Ayoola alleged that students were still being required to pay school fees despite the disruption of academic activities, while lecturers were also reportedly owed salaries.

He said the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had presented its demands to the government, but several meetings aimed at resolving the dispute had failed to produce a lasting solution.

According to him, students had repeatedly received assurances that the crisis would be resolved, but the continued closure of the university had left them frustrated.

Ayoola said the students would continue to employ legitimate means to press for a resolution until the strike was called off and academic activities resumed.

Also speaking, the SUG General Secretary, Oluwatimileyin Amos, said students had spent 68 days away from school and were increasingly uncertain about their academic future.

He said the situation was particularly troubling for final-year and other pending graduates who were expecting to complete their examinations and other requirements for graduation.

Amos appealed to the government and the striking unions to reach an agreement, warning that the continued disruption could further affect students’ academic plans.

The Students’ Senate President, Adebiyi Kehinde, said the union had previously engaged the university management and other relevant stakeholders in an effort to resolve the crisis, but the engagements had yet to yield the desired result.

Kehinde urged the state government to take decisive steps to address the issues behind the industrial action, stressing that the students’ major concern was to return to school and continue their academic activities.

The industrial action has also affected other state-owned tertiary institutions in Ondo State, following the involvement of university-based unions, including the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) and National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT).

The unions are demanding, among other issues, the implementation of agreements on workers’ welfare, payment of outstanding allowances and improved funding for the state-owned institutions.

Meanwhile, the Ondo State Government said it had paid the outstanding balance of the August arrears of the new subvention to the state-owned tertiary institutions.

In a statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, Ebenezer Adeniyan, the government said the payment marked the commencement of the implementation of a 60 per cent increase in subventions to the institutions.

The government said the increase was intended to assist the institutions in meeting salary obligations and improving the welfare of workers.

Governor Aiyedatiwa consequently appealed to the striking unions to suspend the industrial action and return to work in the interest of the students and the development of the state.

The students, however, are demanding that the ongoing dispute be resolved without further delay, saying they want to return to campus and continue their academic programmes.