By Peter Omopo
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Maiduguri chapter, on Tuesday staged a protest against what it described as the “ridiculous” N150,000 monthly retirement benefit for professors under the contributory pension scheme.
Addressing journalists after a one-hour demonstration on campus, UNIMAID ASUU Chairman, Dr. Abubakar Mshelia, said the policy amounts to a betrayal of academics who dedicated decades to nation-building.
“Professors who have served this country for over 40 years retire on a meagre N150,000 while inflation is above 21 per cent. This is a national disgrace. A nation that treats its intellectuals with such disdain cannot expect meaningful progress,” he said.
Mshelia lamented that university staff continue to endure unpaid arrears, including 25–35 per cent wage rewards and promotion arrears pending for over four years in several institutions.
He also faulted the Federal Government’s recent approval of nine private universities, despite a declared moratorium, describing the move as “hypocrisy driven by vested interests.”
“ASUU demands an immediate freeze on establishing new universities until existing ones are properly funded and staffed,” he declared.
The union further rejected the government’s Tertiary Institutions Staff Support loan scheme, non-remittance of third-party deductions, and the renaming of the University of Maiduguri after former President Muhammadu Buhari.
“The decision to rename UNIMAID is provocative, undemocratic, and a violation of university autonomy and academic freedom,” Mshelia said.
He warned that if the government continues to ignore ASUU’s demands, industrial action would be “inevitable,” stressing that the responsibility would lie squarely with the authorities.
