Adjunct lecturers at Atiba University, a privately owned institution in Oyo State, have decried the non-payment of their salaries spanning at least three concluded semesters.
No fewer than 117 staff members have come together to demand better treatment and compensation for their work. They told FIJ on condition of anonymity that James Ojebode, the institution’s founder, has failed to respond to their pleas while Sunday Okeniyi, the Vice Chancellor (VC), appeals for calm. Ojebode, in conversation with FIJ, said the lecturers who were complaining should get another job.
The affected lecturers stated that they began working for the university without formal contracts in place. They only had verbal agreements to receive their salaries at the end of each semester. Salaries are not pegged at a fixed figure. Each lecturer is assigned courses and classes at the beginning of each semester. Then, a calculation method is employed to determine the number of units they will teach and the corresponding number of hours they will work.
The lecturers who spoke with FIJ said they were not familiar with the breakdown, but they could receive up to N165,000 per semester. If they work on more courses in the following semester, they expect the amount to increase.
“The agreement for adjuncts is for us to be paid at the end of a semester,” they told FIJ. “Full-time lecturers, who are fewer, get monthly salaries. In the last one and a half years, spanning three semesters, we have been paid only once. The biggest issue is that even the Vice-Chancellordoes not have a say in how workers are paid. It is at the discretion of the founder.”
The lecturers stated that they had yet to be paid for the 2023/2024 June/July Summer School, the 2024/2025 first semester, and the 2024/2025 second semester. After staff complained in late June, Okeniyi sent a message to the affected lecturers. He apologised and appealed for patience.
FIJ asked the lecturers how they had been recruited without employment contracts, and they explained that some of them had been headhunted. The founder’s daughter, who also serves as the registrar, adds them to a WhatsApp group for staff, and they begin working.
PhD holders receive approximately N200,000 per semester if they teach four courses, FIJ gathered. Each course attracted a N50,000 payment, but there were tax deductions.
On Tuesday, FIJ called Ojebode. During this call, the founder stated that disgruntled staff should seek new employment elsewhere. He said the management owed only for one semester. When reminded they were working without pay, Ojebode said, “They should go and get another job. “We gave them deadlines for submitting their question papers, but they did not meet them. When they finish examinations, they collect scripts and disappear. For eight weeks, some of them did not come to class. When asked if he would be fulfilling his obligations to the staff, he said, “I gave the school conditions for salary payments already. Let us review the attendance list so we can determine who fulfils the condition for payment. We want to reduce them.”
