The Joint Action Forum of Academic Staff in Tertiary Institutions in Oyo State (JAFAS) has raised alarm that about six of their members have lost their lives in the past five months following their inability to pay their medical bills due to non-payment of salaries since February, this year.

The JAFAS, comprising academic staff in the Polytechnic Ibadan, the Oke-Ogun Polytechnic in Saki, the Ibarapa Polytechnic in Eruwa, Oyo State College of Agriculture and Technology in Igboora and Emmanuel Alayande College of Education in Oyo town subsequently issued a 14-day ultimatum to the management of the institutions and the government to pay the salary arrears or they would embark on an indefinite strike.

Rising from an emergency meeting in Ibadan, the group led by the Chairman, Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), the Polytechnic Ibadan chapter, Mr. Kelani Ajadi, said the ultimatum started on Tuesday.

Ajadi lamented that the non-payment of salaries has started taking tolls on members as more than five colleagues had died in the last few days while some are still lying critically ill in various hospitals.

“The lecturers have shown enough understanding and exhausted all avenues and therefore resolved to commence the process of a full-scale industrial action as from today (yesterday), giving 14 days notice.”