Vasity lecturers in Nigeria on same salary since 2009 – Prof Sabo

BY ANKELI EMMANUEL, Sokoto

The Zonal Coordinator, Sokoto Zone of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Professor Abubakar Sabo has decried the fact that lecturers in Nigeria have been on the same salary regime since 2009.

Professor Sabo who made the disclosure at a press conference held in Sokoto NUJ Secretariat, also lamented that the highest paid Professors in Nigeria’s public institutions earn a meagre 210 dollars per month since the truncation of the 2009 agreement between ASUU and the Federal Government.

“The most obvious implication of the truncation of this agreement is that, university teachers in  Nigeria have been on the same salary regime since 2009 when the value of Naira to a dollar was N120!. Today, it’s above N1750 and counting.

“It is no longer news that the salaries of the highest paid professor, an average, has been reduced to a meagre $210/month,” he stressed.

While insisting that, after calling off the recent strike action, the Federal Government has paid only four out of their seven and half months withheld salaries till date, Prof Sabo wondered why the government is trying to push lecturers into another round of strike action to get their entitlements that are already captured in the budget made available to ASUU by Hon. Femi Gbajamiamila.

Expressing disappointment over the Federal Government’s deliberate refusal to fulfil its 2009 Renegotiated Agreement with ASUU, Professor Sabo further listed their grouse to include withheld salaries, refusal to pay backlog of arrears of Earned Academic Allowance (EAA), Underfunding of Universities  and Illegal Dissolution of University Governing Councils.

Continuing, the erudite scholar listed more of their grievances to include the non actualization of the exit from IPPIS, the reneging on reverting back to quarterly release of university funds, as well as the non release of promotion arrears and payment of salaries to those academics unjustly denied such because of their opposition to the IPPIS imposition.

The Sokoto Zone of ASUU further advised the National Universities Commission (NUC) to focus it’s attention on other pressing issues such as proliferation of universities, poor condition of service, and the mass exodus of academics rather than concentrating of the rejected Core Curriculum and Maximum Academic Standard (CCMAS) that seeks to erode the powers of the various universities.

Raising eyebrows on how the National Assembly’s invitation of heads of tertiary institutions in the guise of “Oversight”, could possibly create a leeway to fritter away TETFUND intervention funds, the ASUU leader submitted that, “Some of our Vice Chancellors could become susceptible to corruption and other sharp practices associated with such oversights.”

Professor Sabo, the Sokoto Zonal Coordinator of ASUU that consist of eight universities from both Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara states was flanked at the press conference by Usmanu Danfodiyo University (UDU), Sokoto ASUU Chairman, Professor Almustapha Nurudeen, Dr Muhammad Auwal, Dr Shaibu Sadiq among others.