By Kwin Israel, The Sight News
The Federal Government has unveiled new agreements with academic and non-academic staff unions in tertiary institutions, confirmed the payment of key staff allowances and announced plans to establish a unified implementation and monitoring committee to address grievances and prevent disruptions to academic activities.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, announced this in Abuja on Tuesday during the unveiling of the 2026 agreements, describing the development as a major step towards improving staff welfare, restoring trust between the government and unions, and ensuring that students complete their academic programmes without unnecessary delays.
The agreements cover the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance (CATA) for the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) and the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), as well as the Consolidated Non-Teaching Tools Allowance (CONTTA) for non-teaching staff unions across universities, polytechnics and colleges of education. The allowances take effect from January 1, 2026.
Dr. Alausa said the government had decided to expand the existing Implementation and Monitoring Committee for the agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) into a single committee responsible for monitoring all agreements with academic and non-academic staff unions across tertiary institutions.
He explained that the committee would monitor implementation milestones, assess progress, identify challenges and ensure accountability through periodic reports. The minister also urged unions to channel grievances through the committee rather than resorting immediately to the media or industrial action.
“Industrial harmony is essential to educational excellence,” he said, stressing that the successful implementation of the agreements would depend on cooperation, mutual respect and sustained engagement among all parties.
The Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, described the agreements as a significant milestone in efforts to strengthen industrial relations and improve staff welfare. She commended the negotiating team and union representatives, noting that non-academic personnel and academic staff of polytechnics and colleges of education play indispensable roles in the effective delivery of tertiary education.
Also, chairman of the Federal Government’s Tertiary Institutions Expanded Negotiation Committee, Mahmud Yayale Ahmed, urged the government and unions to sustain constructive dialogue throughout the implementation process. He commended the union leaders for considering the government’s position during negotiations and disclosed that some discrepancies had been identified in the agreements for review.
Ahmed described the negotiations as an exercise in mutual understanding and compromise, urging all parties to honour their commitments and avoid actions that could undermine industrial harmony.
Meanwhile, President of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), Comrade Shammah Sunday Kpanja, called for the full implementation of the agreement before the end of the year. He described the negotiations as the fastest in the union’s history, noting that discussions began on December 10, 2025, and culminated in the signing of the agreement in April 2026.
Comrade Kpanja said implementation had commenced, with salary arrears paid between July and September, but maintained that other provisions remained outstanding. He expressed optimism that the proposed joint implementation committee would help address the unresolved issues.
Similarly, President of the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), Dr. Ahmed Bazza Lawan, disclosed that more than 70 per cent of the agreement concerning the colleges of education subsector had been implemented, even before the inauguration of the monitoring committee.
Dr. Lawan commended the government’s education reforms, particularly the dual mandate for colleges of education, but stressed that implementation must extend beyond financial benefits to cover all outstanding provisions of the agreement.
In the same vein, President of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Comrade Mohammed Haruna Ibrahim, also praised the negotiation process, saying it had achieved in less than a year what previous efforts had failed to accomplish over 17 years. He urged the Federal Ministry of Education to expedite the processing of outstanding agreements involving the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions and other unions.
Comrade Ibrahim said improved staff welfare would strengthen industrial relations and contribute to national development, while assuring the government of the union’s continued cooperation.
In his remarks, the Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, Arc. Sonny Echono, also commended the government and the unions for reaching an agreement, describing the development as an important milestone for the tertiary education sector. He noted that sustained government commitment to education was essential to improving staff welfare, expanding access to learning and maintaining stability across institutions.
The stakeholders called for faithful implementation of the agreements, warning that the gains achieved through negotiations could only be sustained if all parties met their obligations. They also reaffirmed the importance of keeping students’ welfare and uninterrupted academic activities at the centre of efforts to reform Nigeria’s tertiary education system.
