Academic activities at the University of Benin (UNIBEN) have been thrown into uncertainty following the payment of only half of the August salary to members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), while non-academic staff reportedly received their full salaries.
The development has triggered anxiety among affected lecturers, many of whom were reportedly caught by surprise by the partial payment and are now facing increased financial pressure.
Sources within the university said the half salary was paid without the usual allowances, leaving some lecturers, particularly those servicing loans obtained through the institution, with little or nothing to take home at the end of the month.
The situation has further heightened concerns among academic staff as schools prepare to resume later this month, with lecturers facing mounting family and educational financial obligations.
It was gathered that the federal government recently released funds to cover five months of salary arrears as part of its agreement with ASUU. However, the implementation of the payment arrangement has reportedly been transferred to individual universities without the corresponding release of sufficient funds.
Amid the concerns, the UNIBEN branch of ASUU urged its members to remain calm, saying it had engaged the university management over the matter.
In a notice to members, the branch Secretary, Dr. L. O. Aimiyekagbon, said management had assured the union that further payments would be made.
“The branch has met with the university administration over the payment of August salary, and we have been assured by the university administration that more alerts will come soon. There should therefore be no cause for alarm. We all should remain calm,” he said.
The ASUU UNIBEN chairman, Dr. Enaruna Edosa, also described the half-salary payment as unexpected but expressed optimism that the outstanding balance would be paid.
Edosa said the university management paid professorial allowances to eligible academic staff three days after the salary payment.
“I believe the Vice-Chancellor that the outstanding half salary will be paid,” he said.
Sources familiar with the development, however, said the university resorted to its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to pay the August salaries following the failure of the federal government to release its monthly subvention to the institution.
As of the time of filing this report, the university management had yet to issue an official statement explaining the circumstances surrounding the delayed federal funding or the payment of only half of the August salaries to academic staff.
