Strike: FG directs VCs to submit lecturers’ promotion arrears details
The Federal Ministry of Education has written to the vice chancellors of federal universities, through the National Universities Commission, demanding detailed figures for outstanding promotion arrears, salaries, third-party deductions, and pension arrears.
The directive was contained in a memo signed by the Deputy Director, Universities at the FME, J.N. Akpa.
This move followed an announcement by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, that N2.3bn had been released for the payment of outstanding promotion arrears owed to lecturers.
The memo specifies: “I am directed to convey the HME’s directive that all vice chancellors of federal universities are requested to supply the following information: the outstanding promotion arrears, salaries and third-party deductions and pension arrears figures.”
It further states that the information is required to “furnish the Nigerian University Pension Management Company with the necessary details to facilitate payments.”
Universities were instructed to prepare the data in a tabular Excel format and submit both hard and soft copies to the office of the Executive Secretary of the NUC.
In a statement released last week by the ministry’s spokesperson, Folasade Boriowo, the education minister, Alausa, noted that the N2.3bn payment represents Batch 8 of the salary and promotion arrears processed via the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
Alausa said the disbursement reflected President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to resolving long-standing welfare issues in the tertiary education sector transparently and sustainably.
“A total of N2.31bn, representing Batch 8 salary and promotion arrears, has been released…Benefiting institutions should begin to receive payment alerts anytime from now,” the minister had said.
He added that the Federal Government was also finalising the release of third-party non-statutory deductions and pension remittances, which is expected to be completed in the coming days.
To ensure predictable and timely payments moving forward, Alausa announced that the government had approved the full mainstreaming of the Earned Academic Allowance into university staff salaries beginning in 2026.
Additionally, funds have been released under the Needs Assessment of Nigerian Universities initiative, with fresh budgetary provisions secured to sustain it.
“The Federal Ministry of Education assures that these engagements are being conducted truthfully and in good faith,” Alausa stated.
This development addresses some of the core issues in the prolonged standoff between the Academic Staff Union of Universities and the Federal Government.
