News Investigators/ The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, says the Federal Government has paid the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance (CATA) and Consolidated Non-Teaching Tools Allowance (CONTA) to eligible staff of tertiary institutions nationwide.
Mr Alausa said this at the unveiling of the 2026 agreements between the Federal Government and academic and non-academic staff unions of tertiary institutions on Tuesday in Abuja.
He said the allowances, which took effect from January 2026, were designed to support the professional and operational needs of eligible personnel in universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
The minister said the unveiling marked a significant milestone in the government’s efforts to improve staff welfare, strengthen industrial harmony and ensure stability in the tertiary education system.
He attributed the achievement to President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to resolving longstanding challenges in the education sector.
According to him, the agreements will help restore confidence between the government and unions, following years of disputes and industrial actions that disrupted academic calendars.
“For decades, agreements between government and staff unions were followed by delays, incomplete or unfulfilled commitments.
“Trust weakened, disputes resurfaced, and prolonged industrial actions repeatedly disrupted the academic calendars of our universities, polytechnics and colleges of education,” he said.
Mr Alausa said the disruptions had caused students to lose valuable academic time, increased costs for families and affected teaching and research.
He recalled Tinubu’s promise that four years academic programmes would be completed within four years, saying the agreements would help translate the commitment into reality.
The minister assured the unions that the Federal Government would fulfil its obligations under the agreements.
“Government has decided to expand the existing implementation and monitoring committee established for 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.”
According to him, the expanded committee will have broader representation of unions and relevant stakeholders to ensure effective implementation of the agreements.
He said the government would also consider making the committee permanent to strengthen monitoring and address implementation challenges promptly.
Mr Alausa urged government agencies, governing councils and institutional managements to comply with implementation guidelines, maintain accurate records and cooperate with the monitoring committee.
He also appealed to union leaders to channel grievances through established mechanisms rather than resorting to public confrontations or strikes.
“I urge all parties to remain committed to the principles of fairness, transparency, discipline and industrial harmony,” he said.
The minister commended the leadership of ASUU, the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) and non-teaching staff unions for their contributions to the negotiations.
He said the agreements would be reviewed after three years, in line with provisions allowing either the government or the unions to initiate further discussions.
Earlier, Yayale Ahmed, the Chairman of the Federal Government Tertiary Institutions Expanded Negotiation Committee, commended the government and the unions for reaching agreements through dialogue and mutual understanding.
Mr Ahmed said the negotiations were guided by collective bargaining, mutual respect and a willingness by both parties to accommodate each other’s concerns.
He urged the unions to exercise patience during implementation, noting that government processes could take time.
Mr Ahmed also called for the harmonisation of identified discrepancies in the agreements to ensure that no union felt disadvantaged.
In his remarks, Mohammed Ibrahim, the President, Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), commended Alausa for his role in resolving longstanding issues affecting tertiary institution workers.
Mr Ibrahim said the payment of outstanding salary arrears and the implementation of the allowances had improved workers’ morale.
He also urged the government to ensure the full implementation of all components of the agreements, beyond the payment of allowances.
He expressed optimism that the inauguration of the joint implementation and monitoring committee would facilitate the timely resolution of outstanding issues.
NAN