Seeks Oyo govt intervention to preserve medical education
The Nigerian Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA), Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) branch, has accused the university management of deceit and betrayal of trust in the implementation of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) for medical lecturers.
This follows a statement issued by the university management through its Registrar and Secretary to Council, Mrs Olayinka Balogun, announcing a phased implementation of CONMESS, beginning with partial payment in November 2025 and full implementation by July 2026. Management said the approach was designed to ensure financial stability, with arrears to be “considered” thereafter.
The management described the offer as “a genuine effort to improve staff welfare,” it expressed disappointment over NAMDA’s rejection, which it claimed had fuelled student protests over fears of disruptions to academic and clinical training. The university urged all parties to remain calm as it worked toward a resolution.
However, in a rejoinder jointly signed by the Acting Chairman, Prof. Adeyemi Olamoyegun and Acting Secretary, Dr Ayobami Alabi, NAMDA dismissed the management’s statement as “a deliberate act of public deception, diversion, and blackmail.”
The association said the meeting referenced by management produced no binding resolution, Council approval, or financial directive, describing the announcement as “a recycling of old promises wrapped in public-relations language.”
“Phrases such as ‘scheduled to begin’ and ‘pledged to consider’ carry no legal weight,” NAMDA said. “They only serve to prolong the lecturers’ suffering.”
NAMDA also accused the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Razaq Kalilu, of acting in bad faith, claiming he had requested time to consult the Governing Council, only for management to release a statement the next day suggesting an agreement had been reached. The group described this as “a betrayal of trust unbecoming of university leadership.”
The association further rejected management’s attempt to link the ongoing student protest to its stance, insisting that the unrest stemmed from the administration’s failure to honour commitments. “Students are protesting because management failed to fulfil lawful obligations to their teachers,” NAMDA said.
According to the union, the agitation for CONMESS implementation began over a year ago, after other medical schools nationwide had already adopted the structure for their lecturers.
NAMDA recalled that in January 2025, the Vice-Chancellor had assured members that CONMESS would be implemented immediately, prompting the union to suspend its one-week strike.
“Eleven months later, nothing has changed, no approval, no payroll adjustment, no arrears. Our members remain the only medical academics in Nigeria still being paid under the old structure,” the statement lamented.
The group argued that LAUTECH’s continued non-compliance was discriminatory, illegal, and morally indefensible, especially since the Oyo State government had already adopted the salary structure alongside an N80,000 minimum wage adjustment earlier in the year.
“Seeking to be placed on the same salary structure as our counterparts elsewhere is not a privilege; it is a right and a correction of injustice,” NAMDA stated.
The association said it would only accept the immediate implementation of CONMESS using the Oyo State template, with arrears computed from January 2025, when the Vice-Chancellor made his initial pledge.
NAMDA called on the university’s Governing Council and the Oyo State Government to urgently intervene “to preserve the integrity of medical education” in the institution.
