Wale Akinselure
Medical and dental lecturers at the University of Lagos have commenced an indefinite strike, demanding full implementation of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure for academics in the College of Medicine, including arrears from July 2024.
The industrial action, declared by the National Association of Medical and Dental Academics, was announced on Wednesday during a press conference held at the Consultants Lounge of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital.
The development comes as the Lagos Zone of the Academic Staff Union of Universities accused both the Federal Government and the Lagos State Government of failing to fully implement key components of the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement, particularly unpaid allowances, salary arrears and welfare entitlements affecting university lecturers nationwide.
The union said the non-payment and inconsistent implementation of agreed financial provisions were deepening tension in the university system and worsening brain drain across institutions.
Speaking at a briefing in Lagos, the President of NAMDA-UNILAG, Prof Ugboro Omotayo, said the strike became inevitable after prolonged efforts to engage the university management failed to produce results.
Omotayo accused the university of refusing to comply with the Federal Government directive mandating the implementation of CONMESS for medical and dental academics, despite its adoption by several other universities across the country.
He said the development had created salary distortions that were worsening the shortage of qualified medical and dental lecturers in the institution.
They also called for the payment of the Clinical Academic Teaching Allowance and the introduction of a Professor Allowance for qualified academics.
Other demands include “alignment with the corrected CONMESS structure and payment of all outstanding arrears, proper placement of newly employed academics on CONMESS instead of the Consolidated University Academic Salary Structure, and reversal of what the association described as inappropriate designations such as ‘Distinguished Consultants.”
The union maintained that the continued use of CONUASS for medical and dental academics contradicted the Federal Government’s approved remuneration structure for clinical lecturers.
Earlier, the association had, in a letter dated May 15, 2026, notified the Vice Chancellor, UNILAG, Prof Folasade Ogunsola, of the commencement of industrial action.
A meeting held on Tuesday between the UNILAG management and the NAMDA failed to stop the continuation of the strike, which officially commenced on Monday.
The association said the decision to commence the strike followed “a breakdown of negotiation, expiration of the ultimatum to management on May 14, 2026.”
According to Omotayo, the industrial action was not aimed at demanding special treatment or higher salaries but at ensuring fairness and compliance with established government policy.
“This strike is not about seeking higher pay but about equity, justice and adherence to government policy,” Omotayo said.
Efforts to obtain the reaction of the university management were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.
ASUU faults FG
At a press conference held at UNILAG on Wednesday, where it reviewed the status of implementation of the agreement across federal and state-owned universities in the Lagos zone, ASUU said the implementation of the agreement had remained inconsistent.
The Lagos Zone covers the UNILAG, Lagos State University, Lagos State University of Science and Technology, Lagos State University of Education, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, and Tai Solarin University of Education.
Reading the union’s communique, the Zonal Coordinator of ASUU, Adesola Nassir, decried the inconsistency in the implementation of the agreement, especially in relation to allowances and outstanding salary obligations owed to lecturers.
It said that while the agreement was the outcome of nearly a decade of renegotiation, government actions since its signing had fallen short of expectations.
ASUU said several key components of the agreement, including Consolidated Academic Tool Allowances, Earned Academic Allowances and Professorial Allowances, had not been fully mainstreamed into the Consolidated University Academic Staff Salary Structure as agreed.
The union, however, accused the government of implementing the agreement in a fragmented and inconsistent manner.
It listed the agitation to include, “payment of arrears of the 25-35 per cent salary award, arrears of promotion, remittances of third-party deductions (check-off dues, cooperative society deductions, pension contributions).”
Other demands are salary shortfalls arising from IPPIS application, and the withheld three-and-a-half months’ salaries occasioned by the 2022 industrial action of ASUU.
“We are perturbed that the government failed to take into consideration the strength of each university to adequately cover the shortfall in the salary component of recurrent cost. The consequence has been haphazard implementation,” the union held.
The union also questioned the government’s commitment to reimbursing universities for funds spent in attempting to implement the agreement.
“We are equally disturbed that the government’s attitude has not convinced the system that it has the commitment and capacity to reimburse the universities for the various amounts mobilised to ‘rescue the situation’,” it added.
ASUU further listed a series of unresolved financial obligations, including arrears of the 25–35 per cent salary award, promotion arrears, third-party deductions, pension remittances, salary shortfalls arising from IPPIS implementation, and the withheld three-and-a-half months’ salaries from the 2022 industrial action.
“To make deductions from salaries and fail to remit the same is fraudulent and criminal, to say the least. To also refuse to pay staff for services already rendered is oppressive and inimical to industrial harmony,” it held.
It warned that continued neglect of these obligations was driving lecturers out of the system and weakening Nigeria’s academic capacity.
“The various fronts from which our membership is being oppressed cannot augur well for occupational satisfaction and commitment to the university system,” the union held.
“Government must address these challenges now, otherwise the universities would continue to bleed from loss of competent staff of all cadres to other academic climes.”
The union specifically urged the Lagos State Government, led by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to urgently implement the agreement across its three state universities: Lagos State University, Lagos State University of Science and Technology and Lagos State University of Education, warning that delay could worsen industrial tension.
ASUU said Lagos State, given its economic capacity, should not lag in implementing agreements reached with academic staff unions.
“If any state should be first to implement the agreement, and even enhance it, it should be Lagos State for many obvious reasons,” the communique read.
The union called for urgent resolution of lingering labour issues in Lagos universities, including promotion bottlenecks at the University of Lagos and unresolved disputes involving staff welfare.
ASUU warned that failure to address unpaid allowances and arrears was accelerating brain drain, with experienced academics leaving for better conditions abroad.
It said the continued strain on lecturers’ welfare was undermining teaching quality and threatening the stability of the university system.
The union added that universities must be allowed to function without financial and administrative pressure that compromises staff morale and productivity.
ASUU urged both federal and state authorities to urgently address all outstanding financial obligations, warning that continued delay could trigger fresh industrial action.
“Our membership is being oppressed by governments, federal and state. This cannot be allowed to continue,” the union declared.
It added that unless immediate steps are taken, “fragile peace in the universities” could no longer be guaranteed.
Copyright PUNCH
All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.
Contact: [email protected]
