Workers of the Nigeria Federal Ministry of Education on Wednesday blocked the entrance to the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja, preventing the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, and the Acting Permanent Secretary, Dr Folake Olatunji-David, from accessing their offices.
It was gathered that the protesters were chanting, “Alausa must go,” amid an ongoing dispute over the proposed concession of King’s College, Lagos, staff welfare and other administrative concerns.
The development raises an uncomfortable question about an administration that repeatedly presents education and workers’ welfare as priorities: what happens when the people entrusted with running the education sector feel neglected by the same government they serve?
Meanwhile, regular payment of salaries, often celebrated as one of the gains of increased government revenue in Nigeria, following the removal of fuel subsidy by the Tinubu-led administration on 29th May 2023 as announced after the president’s swear in, should not be the end of the conversation. Workers need more than salaries; they deserve a working environment where welfare, professional dignity and legitimate concerns are taken seriously.
The Federal Ministry of Education workers are not alone in expressing dissatisfaction. At the state level, the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Lagos State Government-owned Universities Joint Campus Group, on Tuesday declared a total and indefinite strike across Lagos State University, Lagos State University of Education and Lagos State University of Science and Technology.
The union said the strike followed the expiration of a 14-day ultimatum issued to the Lagos State Government on August 31, 2026, without what it considered a satisfactory resolution or concrete plan from the government.
The declaration was contained in a statement signed by the Coordinator, Steering Committee, ASUU-LASU, Olusegun Babalola; Acting Chairman, ASUU-LASUED, Grace Abimbola; and Chairman, ASUU-LASUSTECH, Murisiku Onigemo.
According to the union, the state government allowed its September 13 deadline to lapse without initiating dialogue, despite a final warning on September 10 that “silence is no longer an option.”
The lecturers said their principal demand was the full domestication and implementation of the December 2025 ASUU-FGN Agreement across all Lagos State-owned universities. They said this includes the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance and critical welfare provisions for serving and retired academic staff.
Meanwhile, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State, is also currently affected by industrial action, adding another institution to the growing list of universities whose academic activities have been disrupted by unresolved labour issues.
According to report, Other Affected State-Owned Universities include: Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa; (OAUSTECH), Ondo State; University of Medical Sciences, Ondo; (UNIMED); Plateau State University, Bokkos
This is where the contradiction becomes difficult to ignore. How can a country expect its education sector to deliver excellence when the people teaching, administering and sustaining it are repeatedly forced to fight for what they consider basic and deserved welfare? Education is not merely about constructing classrooms, approving policies or announcing reforms; it is also about the people who make those policies work. When those workers become protesters, the government should not only ask why they are protesting—it should ask what failed before they reached the protest ground.
The cost of industrial action is ultimately borne beyond government offices and union meetings. Students lose valuable academic time, parents face uncertainty and institutions struggle to maintain continuity. Governments have a responsibility to listen before disagreements escalate into strikes and confrontations. Workers, too, have a responsibility to pursue lawful and constructive channels of engagement.
The larger lesson is straightforward: a government cannot credibly claim to be prioritising education while repeatedly allowing disputes over the welfare and conditions of education workers to become crises. Paying salaries on time is important, but it is only one part of workers’ welfare. If education is truly a priority, then those who keep the sector running must feel that priority not only in government speeches, but also in their working conditions, entitlements, dialogue with authorities and institutional dignity.
