At least 30 senior lecturers have resigned from Sa’adu Zungur University (SAZU), Bauchi State over poor pay and mismanagement.
This was disclosed by the zonal coordinator of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Bauchi Zone, Namo Timothy, during a press briefing.
Timothy explained that the lecturers who were all PhD holders left the school due to inadequate staff welfare and mismanagement.
He warned that SAZU, a state-owned university, is in a critical state and called on the Bauchi State government to declare a state of emergency.
Timothy further cautioned that without urgent intervention, the ASUU Bauchi Zone could no longer ensure industrial peace between its members and the university administration.
“The zone has engaged key stakeholders and exchanged numerous correspondences in an attempt to resolve these issues, but to no avail,” he said.
He lamented that staff at SAZU lack both pension and death benefit schemes, which are standard in public service regulations across Nigeria.
Timothy added that the university owes its staff over ₦650 million in Earned Academic Allowances and Excess Workload Allowances, dating back to 2012.
He also condemned the appointment of a Higher National Diploma (HND) holder as the university’s bursar, in violation of the institution’s regulations, which mandate a minimum of a first degree for the role.
Timothy while adding that all the challenges in the school have demoralized the staff, called on the state government and university administration to implement a comprehensive exit policy that provides pension and death benefits for staff.