UNIMAID ASUU Faults FG Over ₦150,000 Retirement Benefit for Professors
The University of Maiduguri chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has condemned the Federal Government’s policy that leaves retiring professors with only ₦150,000 as benefits, calling it “a mark of insensitivity” and “a national embarrassment.”
Addressing members after a campus protest, the branch chairman, Abubakar Mshelia, argued that no country that undervalues its academics can achieve genuine development.
“After more than four decades of service to the nation, professors are left with a paltry ₦150,000 under the contributory pension scheme, at a time when inflation is over 21 percent. This is beyond a labour dispute — it is a shameful treatment of intellectuals,” he said.
He criticised government neglect of staff welfare, citing unpaid salary arrears of 25–35 percent, outstanding promotion arrears of over four years, and the refusal to implement the renegotiated 2009 agreement.
Mshelia also berated the Federal Government for recently approving nine new private universities, despite earlier declaring a moratorium. He described the move as “hypocrisy driven by vested interests” and demanded a halt to new approvals until existing public institutions are properly funded.
The union also rejected the proposed Tertiary Institutions Staff Support Loan Scheme and raised concerns over non-remittance of third-party deductions.
Reacting to the plan to rename the University of Maiduguri after late President Muhammadu Buhari, Mshelia said ASUU would resist the decision, describing it as an “affront to institutional autonomy and academic freedom.”
He noted that ASUU had consistently chosen dialogue but warned that continued government neglect could trigger fresh strikes.
“Industrial action is never our first option, but if government persists on this course, we will have no choice. Responsibility will rest squarely on its shoulders,” he cautioned.
