No end in sight: Ogun strike disrupts vital services as Gov. Abiodun faces growing pressure

Hospitals, schools, and government offices across Ogun State remain shut as the statewide workers’ strike enters its seventh day.

The strike, led by major labour unions in the state, has caused serious disruptions in public services.

At one state hospital, patients were left unattended with empty wards and no medical staff in sight.

The workers started the indefinite strike to protest the government’s failure to pay their contributory pension funds and address other long-standing issues.

For the past 17 years, various state governments have not properly paid into the Contributory Pension Scheme, causing an outstanding pension debt of N82 billion.

Schools across the state are also closed, with the third-term exams, which were supposed to start last week, postponed. Many students and parents are now confused about when normal school activities will resume.

The strike’s impact is clear in many public institutions. In Abeokuta, the normally busy State Hospital in Ijaye was deserted, with no doctors or medical staff on duty, leaving patients without care.

A patient at Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOSUTH) in Sagamu said he was referred to another hospital because no one was attending to patients.

Even the Ogun State House of Assembly and several ministries are affected, with offices shut and workers absent.

Despite several meetings with Governor Dapo Abiodun, workers say they will not end the strike until their demands are met.

The governor had promised immediate payments to workers retiring from July 2, 2025, under the Contributory Pension Scheme.

He also announced a 10-year payment plan from 2025 to 2030, followed by another phase from 2030 to 2035.

However, labour unions say these proposals are not enough.

Hameed-Benco Ademola, chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Ogun State, said the strike is not meant to harm the economy but is a necessary fight for workers’ rights.

“We didn’t go on strike to punish anyone, but to get what is rightfully ours,” he said.

The union’s demands include:

Full funding of the Contributory Pension Scheme

Implementation of the 2024 minimum wage and its Adjustments

Payment of eight years’ leave Allowance Adjustments to Pension

Promotion of staff for 2023 and 2024

While the strike continues, there are unconfirmed reports that the government and labour leaders might soon reach an agreement. But for now, workers remain on strike, and public services in Ogun State are still at a standstill.