Ondo State Governor, Hon. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has given his approval for the payment of a N35,000 monthly wage award to workers in state-owned tertiary institutions.

This decision comes after a meeting with institution heads and worker leaders in Akure, following protests over the exclusion of tertiary institution workers from the previous N35,000 monthly wage award paid to civil servants from November 2023 to April 2024.

The Nigerian Monitor gathered that, initially the state government had planned to pay the wage award from the increased subvention of the tertiary institutions.

However, the institutions’ inability to fund the award prompted the Governor’s intervention.

To accommodate the new approval, the wage award for civil servants has been reduced from N35,000 to N15,000, while pensioners in the state will receive a N10,000 monthly wage award.

The approved payment will commence in June 2024 and will last for six months, bringing relief to workers in state-owned tertiary institutions who had felt marginalized by the initial exclusion.

This development highlights the Governor’s commitment to addressing the concerns of all stakeholders in the state’s education sector.