The Federal Government says it has released ₦2.3 billion to clear outstanding salary and promotion arrears of university lecturers, reaffirming its commitment to revitalising Nigeria’s tertiary education sector through steady funding and reforms.
Education Minister Dr Tunji Alausa announced the release in Abuja, saying the payment—labelled Batch 8—was processed through the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation. He added that President Bola Tinubu’s administration is determined to resolve long-standing welfare and funding challenges in a “fair and sustainable manner.”
Alausa also disclosed that the government plans to mainstream the Earned Academic Allowance into lecturers’ salaries from 2026, while additional funds have been provided under the Needs Assessment of Nigerian Universities scheme.
However, some lecturers said that they had yet to receive their October salaries, casting doubt on the government’s claims. “We have not received a dime,” said one lecturer at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. Another, from the Federal University of Technology, Minna, described the delay as “a worrying trend.”
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has long been pressing for the payment of withheld salaries and the full implementation of the 2009 agreement, warning that the government’s inconsistency continues to weaken Nigeria’s university system.
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