Federal varsities get 40% pay rise, increased allocations
Top 20 federal universities allocations increased from N438.85bn in 2025 to N533.1bn in 2026.
Budgetary personnel allocations to some federal universities in the country have recorded a substantial increase following the Federal Government’s approval of a 40 per cent salary increase for academic staff and the introduction of new and enhanced allowance packages.
An analysis of the Federal Government’s 2026 budget estimates revealed that personnel cost allocations to the top 20 federal universities rose from N438.85bn in 2025 to N533.1bn in 2026, indicating an increase of N94.25bn, or about 22 per cent within one fiscal year.
On Wednesday, the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities finally reached an agreement, ending a 16-year deadlock over the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN–ASUU agreement and raising expectations of improved welfare, funding stability, and industrial harmony in Nigeria’s university system.
As part of the agreement, the Federal Government approved a 40 per cent salary increase for lecturers across federal institutions, alongside the creation of a new professorial cadre allowance, which will grant university professors a monthly top-up of over N140,000.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, said the government had already made provisions to fund the enhanced remuneration package.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, Alausa explained that the funding covered both the salary adjustment and the restructuring of academic allowances.
He said, “A professor will now receive a monthly top-up of over N140,000, as President Tinubu has approved a new category of allowance for academic staff, known as the professorial cadre allowance, which is an enhanced additional package.
“Today, we have the funding to support the 40 per cent salary increase granted to our lecturers across all institutions, as well as the nine enhanced Earned Academic Allowances, which are now properly structured.”
He added that the allowances captured under the agreement had been clearly defined, addressing long-standing demands by the lecturers’ union.
In the 2026 budget, the Federal Government allocated N3.52tn to education, representing 6.1 per cent of the N58.18tn national budget.
A breakdown of the education vote showed that N113.764bn was earmarked for major targeted education interventions, N42bn for the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme and N35bn to tackle the out-of-school children crisis.
Other allocations include N28bn for security infrastructure across the 118 Federal Unity Colleges and N5.2bn for the upkeep of 1,532 Nigerian students studying abroad under the Bilateral Education Programme.
In the country’s federal budgeting system, personnel cost, also referred to as personnel emoluments, forms a major component of recurrent (non-debt) expenditure for Ministries, Departments and Agencies, including the Federal Ministry of Education.
It covers salaries, allowances, pensions, gratuities and related expenses, and is centrally managed through the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System, which verifies staff records, eliminates ghost workers and ensures timely payments.
Although the detailed recurrent and capital expenditure components of the education vote are yet to be fully disclosed, an analysis of the Ministry of Education’s 2026 allocations accessed via the Budget Office showed a marked increase in personnel costs across leading federal universities.
Institutions captured under this category include the University of Ibadan, University of Lagos, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Ahmadu Bello University, Obafemi Awolowo University, University of Benin, University of Jos, University of Calabar, University of Ilorin and the University of Abuja.
Others are the University of Port Harcourt, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Modibbo Adama University, University of Uyo, University of Maiduguri, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Bayero University and Usman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto.
Of the institutions reviewed, the University of Ibadan recorded the highest increase, with personnel costs rising from N25.13bn in 2025 to N37.52bn in 2026, a jump of about N12.4bn.
Ahmadu Bello University followed, as its personnel allocation increased from N34bn to N44.5bn, reflecting a N10.5bn rise, or roughly 31 per cent.
Other increases include UNILAG (N1.32bn), UNN (N6bn), OAU (N2.2bn), UNIBEN (N3.16bn), UNIJOS (N9.2bn), UNICAL (N5.5bn), UNILORIN (N5.26bn), UNIABUJA (N3.5bn), and UNIPORT (N2.3bn).
Further adjustments showed ATBU with a N4.87bn increase, FUTO, Owerri (N5.24bn), FUTA (N1.5bn), Modibbo Adama University (N720m), UNIUYO (N211m), UNIMAID (N6.2bn), NAU (N6bn), Bayero University (N4.6bn), and Usman Dan Fodio University (N3.47bn).
When contacted for further clarification on the higher personnel allocations for the tertiary institutions, the Director of Press and Public Relations at the Federal Ministry of Education, Boriowo Folasade, said she would get back to our correspondent, but had not done so as of press time.
