Jane Salihu
The Federal Government has moved to strengthen compliance with labour agreements in tertiary institutions by bringing the monitoring of commitments to academic and non-academic staff unions under a single committee to prevent recurring industrial disputes.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja during the unveiling of the 2026 agreements with staff unions in universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, assuring workers that the government would fulfil its obligations.
Alausa said the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance (CATA) and Consolidated Non-Teaching Tools Allowance (CONTTA) took effect from January 2026 as part of efforts to address longstanding welfare concerns and rebuild trust between the government and education sector workers.
He noted that previous agreements had suffered implementation setbacks, leading to recurring disagreements and prolonged strikes that disrupted academic calendars, affected research and imposed additional financial burdens on students and their families.
“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,” the minister said.
To address the challenges, Alausa announced plans to expand the existing implementation and monitoring committee established for the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to cover agreements with academic and non-academic unions across tertiary institutions.
He explained that the proposed arrangement would provide a common monitoring framework, strengthen oversight and facilitate the resolution of outstanding issues. He added that the government would consider making the committee permanent to ensure continuous monitoring of compliance.
The minister urged government agencies, institutional governing councils and managements to comply with the implementation guidelines, maintain accurate records and cooperate with the committee.
He also advised union leaders to channel their grievances through established mechanisms rather than resorting to strikes or public confrontations.
Alausa said the agreements were designed to support President Bola Tinubu’s pledge that students should complete four-year academic programmes within four years, stressing that sustained industrial harmony was essential to achieving the objective.
He 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 participation in the negotiations.
The minister added that the agreements would be reviewed after three years in line with their provisions.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Federal Government Tertiary Institutions Expanded Negotiation Committee, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, attributed the successful negotiations to dialogue, collective bargaining and mutual understanding between the government and organised labour.
Ahmed urged the unions to exercise patience during implementation, noting that administrative processes could take time. He also called for the resolution of identified discrepancies in the agreements to ensure that no union was disadvantaged.
Similarly, the President of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Mr Mohammed Ibrahim, said the payment of outstanding salary arrears and implementation of the allowances had improved workers’ morale.
However, he urged the government to honour all provisions of the agreements, warning against prioritising allowance payments at the expense of other outstanding commitments.
Ibrahim expressed optimism that the joint implementation and monitoring committee would help resolve pending issues and strengthen relations between the government and tertiary institution unions.
The proposed consolidation of monitoring arrangements is expected to improve accountability in the implementation of labour agreements, although its success will depend on consistent compliance by the government and relevant stakeholders.
