The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), Ogun State Polytechnics, has called on Governor Dapo Abiodun to urgently implement the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance (CATA) and Earned Academic Allowance (EAA) in the state’s six public polytechnics, warning that failure to address the demand within the remaining six days of its 15-day ultimatum could trigger an industrial crisis in the institutions.
The union, which made the call at a press conference, said the ultimatum issued by its National Leadership on October 27, 2026, followed the non-implementation of the CATA/EAA component of the 2026 Federal Government/ASUP Agreement by the Ogun State Government.
Reading the union’s position on behalf of other chapter chairmen, the Chairman of ASUP, Ogun State Polytechnic of Health and Allied Sciences, Ilese-Ijebu, Comrade Adeyemi Joseph Kolawole, said the national leadership had previously written to the state government on August 5 and September 21, 2026, seeking the implementation of the allowances, but expressed disappointment that no satisfactory commitment had been received.
According to him, the ultimatum followed the resolution of the union’s 118th National Executive Council meeting held in Abuja on October 22, adding that the government must act decisively to prevent an avoidable disruption of academic activities.
“With only six days remaining before the expiration of the ultimatum, we consider it necessary to publicly reiterate our concerns and call on the Ogun State Government to take immediate and decisive steps to avert an avoidable industrial crisis in the polytechnic sector,” Kolawole said.
He explained that although CATA/EAA implementation remained the immediate focus of the union’s agitation, several other welfare and institutional challenges had continued to undermine the operations of the six state-owned polytechnics.
Kolawole particularly faulted the continued payment of what he described as inadequate monthly subventions of N5 million to some of the institutions, saying the amount had remained unchanged for over a decade despite rising economic realities, operational costs and increasing institutional responsibilities.
He also raised concerns over the government’s failure to meet its pension counterpart funding obligations and the non-remittance of employees’ pension deductions to their respective Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) for several months.
The ASUP chairman further lamented the inconsistent payment of palliatives to workers, noting that most of the affected polytechnics were yet to benefit from the support announced by the state government this year.
He said the situation reflected inadequate attention to the polytechnic sector, despite its critical role in providing technical, vocational and entrepreneurial education to young people.
The union, therefore, demanded the immediate implementation and payment of CATA/EAA in line with the 2026 FGN/ASUP Agreement, an upward review of monthly subventions for all six state-owned polytechnics from the current N5 million to N100 million, regular pension counterpart funding and the settlement of outstanding pension deductions.
Other demands include the payment of outstanding palliatives to eligible workers across the institutions and renewed government commitment to polytechnic education through improved funding, infrastructure, staff welfare and capacity development.
Corroborating the union’s position, other chapter chairmen at the press conference also expressed concern over the government’s alleged failure to fulfil its pension obligations, particularly the non-payment of its counterpart contributions.
A representative of Gateway ICT Polytechnic, Saapade, disclosed that since the establishment of the institution over 20 years ago, the state government had allegedly failed to remit its 12 per cent share of staff pension contributions.
He said the situation had seriously affected the retirement benefits and financial entitlements of workers, particularly those approaching retirement.
The other chapter chairmen present included Comrade Okunubi Samuel Adetunji of Abraham Adesanya ICT Polytechnic, Ijebu-Igbo; Comrade Ogunsanya Babatunde Abraham of Gateway ICT Polytechnic, Saapade; Comrade Adebayo Amos Adeleke of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta; Ogun-koya Wole Adepero of Ogun State Institute of Technology, Igbesa; and Comrade Sogbesan Adebiyi of D.S. Adegbenro ICT Polytechnic.
Reaffirming its commitment to dialogue and peaceful resolution of industrial disputes, ASUP, however, insisted that government engagement must translate into concrete action.
The union consequently appealed to Governor Abiodun to personally intervene and ensure that all outstanding issues were resolved before the expiration of the ultimatum.
It warned that the welfare of academic staff, the sustainability of the institutions and the educational future of thousands of students should not be allowed to suffer because of issues that could be addressed through timely government intervention.
” No responsible government should allow avoidable industrial disharmony to disrupt the academic calendar when the issues at stake can be resolved through genuine commitment and timely intervention,” the union stated.
