…Accuses Aiyedatiwa of starving varsity of funds, neglecting staff welfare
Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), has been reduced to a shadow of itself, with lecturers abandoning their offices and students left to study in crumbling facilities — a crisis worsened by the Ondo State Government’s decision to block TETFund intervention from reaching the institution.
At a press briefing in Akure on Friday, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), AAUA branch, accused Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of deliberately starving the university of funds while diverting TETFund support to other state institutions.
“If you enter our Faculty of Arts today, you will find abandoned offices. The inner roofs have collapsed, and lecturers had to flee after their books and teaching materials were destroyed by rainwater. The same thing is happening in the Faculty of Education. We are literally teaching under leaking roofs,” lamented Dr. Boluwaji Oshodi, Chairperson of ASUU-AAUA.
According to the union, AAUA had relied almost entirely on TETFund for infrastructure for over a decade. Nearly 90% of the university’s buildings were funded by the federal intervention agency. But during the last administration, the government stripped AAUA of its TETFund lifeline and redirected it to other state-owned universities.
“Since the withdrawal of TETFund, our university has been left to rot. Not a single kobo has been released as capital grant in the last seven years, despite yearly appropriations by the House of Assembly. The withdrawal was like cutting off oxygen from a patient. That is why you see roofs collapsing and lecturers abandoning their offices,” Oshodi stated bitterly.
Aiyedatiwa Under Fire
ASUU condemned Governor Aiyedatiwa’s attitude towards the university, accusing him of watching silently as AAUA collapses.
“The Governor has repeatedly ignored our letters. He promised to send a verification team to AAUA in July, but till today, nobody has come. Instead, he keeps granting special financial interventions worth billions to another tertiary institution in this same state. What exactly has AAUA done wrong?” the union queried.
Currently, AAUA receives ₦223 million as monthly subvention against a wage bill of over ₦555 million, forcing the management to scavenge for over ₦330 million monthly just to pay salaries. Despite this burden, lecturers are being owed salaries for August and September 2025, alongside several years of arrears and allowances.
A University on the Brink
The union warned that unless urgent intervention funds are released, AAUA risks total collapse.
“This university is our pride, but it is being strangulated deliberately. What is good for the goose is good for the gander. If other institutions can get billions in interventions, AAUA deserves no less,” ASUU declared.
With crumbling offices, abandoned classrooms, and lecturers on strike, ASUU said the neglect of AAUA is no longer just a funding issue — it is a shameful indictment on Ondo State Government’s priorities.
