The Congress of University Academics (CONUA) has decried the current state of academic remuneration, describing it as ridiculous and not motivating for a Nigerian professor to earn less than a million naira monthly.
Speaking to journalists at the just-concluded 1st Quadrennial Delegates Conference of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) of Nigeria in Abuja, the national president of CONUA, Dr Niyi Sunmonu, stated that it was disheartening that no professor in Nigerian universities currently earns up to a million naira monthly despite the enormous responsibilities shouldered by university lecturers.
LEADERSHIP found that the pay scale for university lecturers has not been comprehensively reviewed since 2009, with inflation eroding the value of salaries significantly.
A Nigerian professor’s monthly salary ranges between N400,000 and N600,000, depending on seniority, years of service and allowances.
However, Sunmonu emphasised that the government’s recent release of N50 billion for the settlement of Earned Academic Allowances (EAA), while appreciated, does little to address academics’ fundamental problems, particularly the need for a salary review.
“The 70,000 naira minimum wage announced recently has already been rendered useless by inflationary pressures.
In 2009, an offer of about N1.2 million monthly for professors was proposed, but it was not officially implemented through proper negotiation. As we speak today, no professor earns up to a million Naira. It is not motivating at all, and it is ridiculous in our system,” he said.
The union leader explained that CONUA’s major demand remains the comprehensive renegotiation of the 2009 Agreement, which should address salaries and general working conditions beyond allowances.
Sunmonu also listed several unresolved issues affecting CONUA members, including the non-payment of three-and-a-half months’ withheld salaries in 2022.
He noted that despite CONUA’s consistent stance against strike action, its members have been unfairly punished.
“We were not on strike during the 2022 industrial action, yet our members’ salaries were withheld; we are pursuing the legitimate means to ensure that the three and a half months’ salaries are paid,” he declared.
He warned that failure to do so would send the wrong signal that disruptions are favoured over uninterrupted academic calendars.
Commenting on allegations that universities were frustrating students’ access to federal loans, Sunmonu said CONUA had already issued strong statements condemning any malpractices.
“Our reaction was simple; it leaves a sad taste in the mouth, academic administrators in collusion with bank officials to deny our future leaders? If true, it is bad, and the government must not sweep it under the carpet,” he said.
Sunmonu also called for the establishment of fact-finding committees to expose and prosecute those involved and suggested that CONUA should be part of an oversight body to monitor transparency in the disbursement of student loans.
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