The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has announced that professors in Nigeria’s public universities will now earn a monthly top-up of over ₦140,000, following a new agreement between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
Alausa disclosed this on Wednesday while speaking on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme.
He explained that President Bola Tinubu approved the creation of a new allowance category for academic staff, tagged the “professorial cadre allowance,” as part of an enhanced welfare package for university lecturers.
“A professor will now receive a monthly top-up of over ₦140,000, as President Tinubu has created a new category of allowance for academic staff, known as the professorial cadre allowance,” Alausa said.
According to the minister, the Federal Government now has sufficient funding to implement a 40 per cent salary increase for lecturers across public institutions, alongside nine enhanced Earned Academic Allowances (EAA), which he said have been properly structured.
Alausa stressed that the success of any agreement lies in its implementation, not just its signing.
“The beauty of any agreement is not at the point of signing, but at the implementation phase. Before today, we have already started implementation,” he noted.
He revealed that the Chairman of the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission worked extensively between December 20 and 30 to ensure the release of the necessary circular backing the welfare components of the agreement.
“That circular has been released. When we were negotiating, the President made it clear he would not approve an agreement he was not ready to implement,” Alausa added.
The announcement comes amid long-standing disputes between the Federal Government and ASUU over salaries, allowances and conditions of service in Nigeria’s public universities.
