The Federal Government has introduced a three-year review clause into the new 2026 agreements with staff unions of tertiary institutions.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed this in Abuja at the presentation of the agreements to the unions.
He said under the new arrangement, either the Federal Government or any of the unions can trigger a review of the agreement after three years, to address emerging welfare issues and economic realities.
“We have built in a three-year review clause. Either government or the unions can call for a review after three years,” Alausa said.
Alausa said the clause was designed to prevent future agitations and prolonged negotiations that disrupt academic calendars, adding that a four-year programme should no longer extend beyond four years.
He said the agreements cover Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance (CATA) for Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) and Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), and Consolidated Non-Teaching Tools Allowance (CONTTA) for non-teaching staff unions of universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
He noted that the allowances took effect from January 1, 2026 and have been paid to all institutions.
The minister announced the expansion of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) Implementation and Monitoring Committee into a single Implementation and Monitoring Committee (IMC) for all academic and non-academic unions.
He urged union leaders to channel all grievances to the committee rather than the media, stressing that industrial action should not be the first option.
“You have a president that has your back. Don’t go to the press first. Whatever grievances that you have, bring it to this committee. Strike should not be your first action. President Bola Tinubu has completely removed strike in tertiary institutions,” Alausa said.
On her part, the Minister of State for Education, Prof Suwaiba Said Ahmad, said non-academic staff remain indispensable to the education system, covering administration, finance, laboratories, libraries, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), healthcare and maintenance.
“Supporting the welfare and professional development of these employees is therefore an investment in the quality, relevance and competitiveness of our education system,” she said.
Also speaking, Chairman of the Federal Government Tertiary Institutions Expanded Negotiation Committee, Malam Yayale Ahmed, said he initially hesitated to accept the chairmanship but later adopted a model of being part of the unions to understand their thinking.
“I decided that I should not see myself as we versus the unions. I tried to make sure that I was part of the union, to think what they are thinking,” he said.
Yayale disclosed that the Minister crafted CATA and CONTTA as a way out without destabilising government policy that salaries would not be increased until the next five years.
He urged unions not to take President Tinubu’s political will for granted and appealed that threats of strike should not be translated into action.
Yayale thanked the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC), particularly former chairman Mr Ekpo Nta, for their support.
The agreements were presented to ASUP, COEASU, Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), Nigerian Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Polytechnics (SSANIP), Non-Teaching Staff Union of Polytechnics (NOTSUP), Senior Staff Union in Colleges of Education, Nigeria (SSUCOEN), and other non-teaching unions.
Speaking separately, the President of ASUP, Comrade Shammah Kpanja, the National President of COEASU, Dr Lawan Bazza Ahmed, and the President of SSANU, Comrade Mohammed Ibrahim, expressed happiness over the payment of the allowances by the Federal Government.
