Academic and non-academic staff of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, Ondo State, on Monday staged a protest over their exclusion from the implementation of the new national minimum wage of ₦73,000, more than a month after other state workers began receiving the revised salary.
The protest, organised by the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Polytechnics (SSANIP) and the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), saw workers barricade the institution’s main gate, waving placards and chanting solidarity songs.
Speaking during the protest, the SSANIP Chairman, Mr. Saka Olokungboye, lamented that polytechnic staff were still being paid the old ₦18,000 minimum wage, despite repeated engagements with the state government on the need to implement the new wage.
“Our members are struggling to survive under conditions that no longer reflect present economic realities. The old wage is no longer sustainable. We are urging the government to treat polytechnic staff on equal footing with other public servants in the state,” Olokungboye said.
The ASUP Chairman, Mr. Arikawe Ade, appealed to the Governor of Ondo State, Mr. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, to intervene, describing the exclusion as “an injustice” against his members.
“We are only demanding what is rightfully ours under the law,” Ade emphasised.
The protesters vowed to sustain their agitation until the new wage is implemented.
Responding, the state Commissioner for Education, Prof. Igbekele Ajibefun, assured that the matter would be addressed, noting that the workers had been invited to a meeting to discuss their demands.
“We have invited them to a meeting and listened to their grievances and demands. We agreed that the institution’s gate should be reopened for academic and administrative activities,” Ajibefun said.
