President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the disbursement of ₦50 billion to clear a backlog of Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) owed to academic and non-academic staff in federal universities after nearly 20 years. According to a statement made available to Legit.ng on Tuesday, July 1, this resolves a decades-old dispute that had strained relations between the government and the country’s tertiary education workforce.
It was gathered that the payment follows a proposal by Education Minister Dr Tunji Alausa and marks the first major disbursement to address the allowances, which had remained unsettled for nearly 20 years despite multiple agreements and failed promises by previous administrations.
Dr Alausa, who had earlier announced the intervention in April, said the funds were released with the direct approval of President Tinubu, who “reaffirmed his belief in the capacity of Nigerian youth and the invaluable role of university staff in nurturing them. This intervention is more than financial. It is a reaffirmation of our commitment to rebuilding the education sector and ensuring our students receive globally competitive training,” Alausa said.
