University lecturers across the country have urged the Federal Government to adopt a funding framework similar to those used for retired permanent secretaries, judges and military generals, under which beneficiaries receive pension payments equivalent to their last salaries in service.
The call follows the recently signed agreement between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities, which provides for a 40 per cent salary increment, improved academic earned allowances and other welfare packages for lecturers.
Under the agreement, senior professors are also entitled to a monthly allowance of N140,000, while associate professors are to receive N70,000 monthly.
One of the most significant provisions guarantees professors who retire at the statutory age of 70 a pension equivalent to their full annual salary at retirement.
While the agreement is expected to reduce the frequency of strikes that have disrupted the university calendar for decades, concerns have been raised about the long-term sustainability of the pension provision, especially in the absence of a clearly defined funding mechanism.
Speaking exclusively with PUNCH Online on Thursday, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), Edo State University, Iyamho, Prof Ben Ugheoke, said professors would not be the first category of public servants to benefit from such an arrangement and urged the Federal Government to be deliberate in implementing the new salary scale.
He said, “Professors who retire at 70 will not be the first to benefit from an arrangement where an employee retires with a pension that is equivalent to their full salary at retirement. Judges do, permanent secretaries do.
In a similar vein, a lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication, National Open University of Nigeria, Abuja, Dr Nathan Emmanuel, lauded President Bola Tinubu for prioritising lecturers’ welfare in the agreement.
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