Tension Rises in Universities as NAAT Opposes N50bn Earned Allowance Allocation to ASUU
The country’s public universities’ academic operations are once again in grave danger because the purported federal government intends to give the Academic Staff Union of Universities, or ASUU, N50 billion in earned allowances.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, has already received a letter from the National Association of Academic Technologists, or NAAT, asking him to postpone the release of the N50 billion in earned allowances until after a meeting between the minister and the leaders of the four university-based unions is held to develop procedures for its just and equitable distribution.
Anything that contradicts those above may not ensure industrial peace on our campuses, according to NAAT.
In a statement released in Abuja following its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting and signed by President Comrade Ibeji Nwokoma, the association called attention to a statement made by the education minister that the N50 billion in the proposed 2025 budget was intended to be used for the payment of Earned Academic Allowances (EAA).
Remember that while non-teaching staff members, such as NAAT, the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), receive Earned Allowances, teaching staff members, or ASUU, receive Earned Academic Allowances.
However, the NAAT statement stated in part, “On April 9 and 10, 2025, the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) conducted its 58th regular National Executive Council (NEC) meeting and discussed national concerns as well as those about the welfare of its members.
During the meeting, Mr. Abel Enitan, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education (FME), Abuja, wrote and signed a letter that caught the attention of the NEC-in-Session.
In the letter titled “Outcome of the meeting of the Honourable Minister of Education with the Technical Committee on the Non-regular Earned Allowances” dated April 4, 2025, which was delivered to the National President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the Union was informed that
Within the next week, N50 billion should be made available for university staff to receive their Earned Academic Allowances (EAA).
The Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy are still in discussions regarding the N150 billion NEEDS Assessment Revitalization Funds, and Dr. Mahmud Yayale Ahmed, the Chairman of the 2009 Agreement’s Re-negotiation Committee, has turned in the Committee’s report, which is currently being examined. Following the conclusion of the review, the ministry will make its official stance known.
“NEC-in-Session viewed this selective and discriminatory action by the Federal Government through FME as a threat to the industrial harmony that exists on our campuses and took it very seriously.”
NAAT clarified that on Thursday, January 23, 2025, the Minister of Education met with the leadership of the four university-based unions at the Implementation Monitoring Committee before the letter was delivered to the president of ASUU.
It stated, “The Honourable Minister’s statement that the N50 billion in the 2025 budget proposal was intended for the payment of Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) caught his attention.” The NAAT president promptly rectified this misconception during the meeting, and other leaders in attendance agreed, stating that the funds were intended to be used for the payment of Earned Allowances (EA) and EAA rather than EAA alone, as the Honorable Minister had claimed.
It may be of interest to you to learn that on August 17, 2022, the Honourable Minister issued an apology and pledged to rectify the misrepresentation of facts in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by NAAT and the Federal Government of Nigeria, which was ably represented by the then-Honourable Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, and the then-Permanent Secretary, Mr. Adejoh.
Regarding the third issue in the letter, NAAT is concerned about the report that the Renegotiation Committee produced and that the ministry is currently reviewing. From NAAT’s perspective, only the committee’s first meeting was conducted.
The renegotiation paper that the committee presented to the ministry is a matter of curiosity.
It went on to say, “In light of the aforementioned, NEC-in-Session requests that the aforementioned letter to the president of ASUU be immediately withdrawn to alleviate tension on university campuses across the country.” Additionally, NEC-in-Session insists that a meeting of the unions’ leadership and the education minister be called before the N50 billion is distributed to develop procedures for a just and equitable distribution.
In contrast to the aforementioned, the union might not be able to provide workplace harmony on our campuses. Additionally, NAAT urges the Dr. Mahmud Yayale Ahmed Committee to immediately call another FGN/NAAT renegotiation meeting to ensure that the exercise is completed on schedule.
The 2009 FGN/NAAT Agreement’s non-inclusive mainstreaming of earned allowances for our members also caused concern for the NEC-in-session, which is why they called for a meeting of the Technical Committee to mainstream the allowances as needed.
“NAAT urges our traditional and religious leaders, National Assembly members, student union leadership, and security agencies, especially DSS, to pay attention and take action.”
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