The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) in Ogun State has warned of a possible industrial crisis in the state’s public polytechnics, urging Governor Dapo Abiodun to resolve its outstanding demands before the expiration of a 15-day ultimatum issued by its national leadership.

The union said only six days remained before the deadline, warning that failure by the state government to address the issues could trigger industrial action across the affected institutions.

ASUP made its position known during a joint press conference at the union’s secretariat in Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta, on Thursday, where representatives from the state’s public polytechnics expressed dissatisfaction with the government’s handling of staff welfare and institutional funding.

Among the major concerns raised was the government’s failure to implement the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance (CATA) and Earned Academic Allowance (EAA), as provided for in the 2026 agreement between the Federal Government and ASUP.

Present at the briefing were union representatives from D.S. Adegbenro ICT Polytechnic, Itori; Ogun State Institute of Technology, Igbesa; Gateway ICT Polytechnic, Saapade; Abraham Adesanya Polytechnic, Ijebu-Igbo; Ogun State Polytechnic of Health and Allied Sciences, Ilese-Ijebu; and Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta.

Reading the union’s statement, Comrade Kolawole Adeyemi said the ultimatum took effect on October 27, following a resolution adopted at ASUP’s 118th National Executive Council meeting in Abuja on October 22.

He disclosed that the national leadership had formally notified the Ogun State Government of its demands and sought the implementation of the outstanding allowances in line with the 2026 Federal Government-ASUP agreement.

Adeyemi said the union had made previous representations to the state government through letters dated August 5 and September 21, 2026, but had yet to receive any concrete assurance that the demands would be met.

He warned that the government’s continued silence, with just six days left before the ultimatum expires, could lead to an avoidable disruption of academic activities in the affected institutions.

Beyond the outstanding allowances, the lecturers expressed concern over what they described as prolonged underfunding of state-owned polytechnics, disclosing that the monthly financial allocation to some institutions had remained at N5m for more than 10 years.

According to the union, the amount is no longer sufficient to meet the institutions’ administrative and operational demands, particularly in view of rising costs and changing economic conditions.

ASUP also accused the state government of failing to meet its pension counterpart funding obligations and allowing employees’ pension deductions to remain unremitted to their respective Pension Fund Administrators for several months.

The union said the situation had placed the retirement benefits and long-term financial security of workers at risk.

It further complained that workers in several state-owned polytechnics had been excluded from the palliative payments announced by the government, noting that many of the affected institutions had not received the support this year.

The association maintained that the state’s polytechnic sector required greater government attention and sustained investment, particularly given the importance of technical and vocational education to employment creation, entrepreneurship and economic development.

Consequently, the union asked the Abiodun administration to begin the payment of CATA and EAA to eligible staff in the affected institutions in accordance with the 2026 agreement.

It also demanded an upward review of the monthly subvention for all state-owned polytechnics from the existing allocations to N100m per institution to enable them to meet their operational obligations.

Additionally, ASUP called for regular and sufficient pension counterpart contributions, alongside the immediate settlement of outstanding employee pension deductions.

Adeyemi appealed to the state government to use the remaining six days of the ultimatum to demonstrate its readiness to resolve the disputes and prevent industrial action.

He argued that disruptions to the academic calendar could be avoided if the government addressed the union’s concerns through timely engagement and concrete action.