UNILESA Lecturers Lament 6–10 Months Salary Arrears Despite N1.3m Tuition Fees

​ILESA — Growing discontent is brewing among the workforce at the University of Ilesa (UNILESA), Osun State, as newly recruited academic and non-academic staff members allege that they are being owed between six and ten months of salary arrears.

​The brewing crisis comes amid concerns over high tuition fees at the state-owned institution, where some students reportedly pay up to N1.3 million per session.

​Multiple sources within the university community confirmed that a significant number of staff members employed during the 2025 recruitment drive have been working for consecutive months without financial remuneration. Affected workers, speaking on the condition of anonymity, described the situation as a severe breach of contractual agreements that has left many in deep financial distress despite continuing to discharge their official duties diligently.

​”Many of us recruited in 2025 have been working on empty stomachs. We have families to feed and transport fares to pay, yet we haven’t seen our salaries for up to ten months. It is ironic that an institution charging over a million naira in tuition cannot pay its frontline workers,” one affected lecturer lamented.

​The development has raised critical questions regarding staff welfare, financial management, and contractual obligations in one of Osun State’s newest public universities, which was upgraded from a College of Education to a full-fledged university in 2023.

​University Management Refutes Claims, Cites N3bn Intervention

​In a swift reaction to the allegations circulating within the media, the management of the University of Ilesa has debunked the reports, describing them as “false and unfounded.”

​In an official statement signed by the Head of Corporate Service and Information Unit, Babatunde Fanowopo, the university authority maintained that the Osun State Government remains committed to the welfare of the institution’s workforce. The management asserted that salaries have been paid up to date and denied that any verified staff member is currently being marginalized.

​”Management wishes to state categorically that the report is false, unfounded, and does not reflect the true position of staff welfare in the University. For the avoidance of doubt, the Osun State Government has paid the salaries and allowances of all categories of staff up to May 2026. No member of staff of the University is owed any salary or emolument,” the statement read in part.

​Furthermore, the university pointed to recent landmark interventions by the state government to demonstrate its commitment to workers. During the institution’s third-anniversary celebrations, Vice-Chancellor Professor Taiwo Asaolu disclosed that Governor Ademola Adeleke’s administration had cleared over N3 billion in inherited outstanding allowances and staff arrears. This financial injection also facilitated the conversion of approximately 300 casual workers into permanent staff positions.

​New Salary Structure Set for Implementation

​Addressing future welfare concerns, UNILESA management revealed that a reviewed salary structure for academic staff has already received executive approval.

​According to Fanowopo, the academic workforce will transition to the new salary scale beginning June 2026, with all accrued arrears stemming from the adjustment scheduled to be fully compensated.

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​While the university administration insists that the financial ledger is clean and workers are well taken care of, internal sources insist that bureaucratic bottlenecks regarding the integration of the 2025 newly employed staff into the state’s central payroll system may be the root cause of the prolonged delays affecting that specific cohort.

​As stakeholders watch closely, observers note that resolving the friction between the newly employed staff’s claims and management’s assurances will be vital to preserving industrial harmony and sustaining the academic growth of the young institution.