BREAKING: Gombe Tertiary Institutions Begin 14-Day Warning Strike Over Unpaid Entitlements

The Joint Union of Gombe State Tertiary Institutions (JOUGTIN) has commenced a 14-day warning strike over what they described as the continued non-implementation and non-payment of outstanding staff welfare entitlements by the Gombe State Government.

The decision followed the expiration of a 14-day ultimatum issued by the unions on August 17, 2026, demanding concrete and verifiable action from the government to resolve welfare issues affecting staff of public tertiary institutions in the state, including arrears arising from the 2019 N30,000 minimum wage, 25 and 35 per cent wage awards, non-implementation of the N70,000 minimum wage and outstanding Earned Academic Allowances.

LEADERSHIP had earlier reported that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Gombe State University branch, has shelved its planned industrial action after the state government and university management made fresh commitments to address outstanding salary-related and welfare issues.

ASUU, however, said the suspension was a window for the authorities to implement the new salary structure and settle outstanding arrears and other entitlements owed to university staff, warning that it would revive the strike if the commitments were not honoured by the end of August, 2026.

This medium also reported that in August, Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya approved an additional N148.762 million monthly subvention for Gombe State University, effective October, to support implementation of the enhanced salary structure to avert the strike. The state government also directed the processing of outstanding CATA arrears, while asking the university to progressively address other financial obligations.

However, in a communiqué after JOUGTIN’s joint meeting on Tuesday, September 1, the union said the ultimatum expired on Monday, August 31, without receiving what it described as tangible, concrete and satisfactory feedback or demonstrable government action capable of resolving the outstanding issues.

JOUGTIN, which comprises the College of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), Senior Staff Union of Colleges of Education in Nigeria (SSUCOEN), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANIP) and Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), said the warning strike would take effect from midnight on Wednesday, September 2.

The affected institutions include the College of Education, Billiri; Gombe State Polytechnic, Bajoga; College of Health Science and Technology, Kaltungo; and the College of Education and Legal Studies, Nafada.

The unions warned that the action could escalate into an indefinite strike if the government fails to provide positive feedback, concrete commitments or demonstrable implementation of the outstanding demands before the end of the 14-day warning period.

“Should there be no tangible and satisfactory feedback, concrete commitment, or demonstrable implementation of the outstanding demands” by the end of the warning strike, JOUGTIN said it would have “no alternative” but to commence an indefinite strike without further notice, subject to applicable labour laws and procedures.

Despite the planned industrial action, the unions said they remained willing to engage the government in good faith, expressing hope that the warning strike would create an opportunity for meaningful intervention and a mutually acceptable resolution.

They urged the state government to treat the matter with urgency and seriousness, warning that resolving the dispute was necessary to safeguard industrial peace, staff welfare and the continued effective functioning of tertiary education in Gombe State.