Mazi Eze, a lecturer at the University of Port Harcourt’s Department of English, has expressed frustration after being denied a N5 million loan due to his monthly salary of N191,000.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, Eze detailed his visit to First Bank, Choba, where he sought a loan to boost his Public Speaking Academy Limited and acquire social media gadgets.
However, his account officer informed him that his salary did not meet the requirements for the requested loan.
Eze highlighted the challenges faced by academic staff at the institution, emphasizing a significant salary gap compared to counterparts in other universities earning monthly incomes ranging from N230,000 to N250,000.
He stated, “Yesterday, I got insulted big time! By my UNIPORT salary! I went to my bank, First Bank, Choba to borrow N5 million. My account officer, a jolly good lady, said, ‘We cannot give you up to that amount as a loan.’ ‘Why?’ I asked.
“‘Your salary cannot carry it. Wait, let me see.’ She clicked away at her desktop computer and said, ‘Your salary is N191,000. We can only give you 1.something million repayable within three years.’
“I shook my head and replied, ‘I don’t need 1.something million. What I need is N5 million. I need to fully equip my Public Speaking Academy Limited. I need to buy some gadgets for my social media engagements.’
“The lady said, ‘Sorry Sir, your salary cannot carry it.’ That day, I went home without getting the loan. I went home sad. Angry. Depressed. I’m 10+ years as a lecturer in UNIPORT. I have a PhD, and my take-home pay is N191,000.
“Some of my colleagues who are at my salary scale level in Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Bori Polytechnic, and Rivers State University receive between N230,000 and N250,000 monthly. That’s what they told me. N230,000 to N250,000 monthly is peanuts in this Tinubu’s economy.
“At UNIPORT, a federal university, it’s N191,000 monthly! What’s wrong with UNIPORT? Or is it the same salary scale in other federal universities in Nigeria?
“In the next six to eight years, by God’s grace and through determination and diligence, I’ll become a professor, and my salary will be a miserable N440,000 monthly. Me, I’m tired sef!”
