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| Minister of Education — Dr Tunji Alausa |
In a swift move that has temporarily defused rising tension across Nigeria’s federal tertiary institutions, the Federal Government has released eight months of arrears under the Consolidated Non-Academic Staff Tertiary Institutions Allowance (CONTA). The payment covers January to August 2026 and benefits non-academic workers in federal universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.
Minister of Education Dr Tunji Alausa announced the disbursement on Wednesday, October 7, 2026. The timing is significant: it came just days after non-academic staff unions, led primarily by the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), issued a 14-day ultimatum threatening a “total, comprehensive and indefinite” strike if outstanding entitlements remained unpaid.
Alausa framed the release as evidence of the administration’s focus on staff welfare and industrial harmony. “The release of CONTA demonstrates the administration’s commitment to workers’ welfare and recognition of the critical role played by non-academic personnel in keeping tertiary institutions functional,” he said. He linked the payment to broader efforts under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to strengthen human capital development and minimise disruptions to the academic calendar.
The announcement followed closely on the heels of the commencement of payments for the Consolidated Academic Tertiary Institutions Allowance (CATA) to academic staff, signalling a coordinated attempt to address welfare concerns across both teaching and non-teaching cadres.
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The Ultimatum That Forced the Pace
SSANU’s National Executive Council, meeting at the University of Uyo in Akwa Ibom State over the weekend of September 30 to October 1, had expressed deep frustration over delays in implementing the 2026 FGN/SSANU Agreement. The union demanded immediate payment of CONTTA/CONTA arrears calculated from January 1, 2026, alongside other lingering entitlements. Failure to comply within 14 days, it warned, would trigger industrial action capable of paralysing administrative and support services on campuses nationwide.
SSANU President Mohammed Haruna Ibrahim later confirmed that funds had been released and that members should begin receiving alerts. He described the government’s response as a positive demonstration that “constructive engagement, when matched with prompt action, can protect industrial harmony and workers’ welfare.” Ibrahim specifically praised Alausa for intervening and for earlier assurances that the Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation were processing the payments.
Yet the union was careful not to declare full victory. Outstanding issues remain: two months’ salaries withheld during the 2022 industrial action, and one-year arrears arising from earlier 25 per cent and 35 per cent salary increases. These, Ibrahim insisted, are legitimate entitlements that should not face further delay.
Why Non-Academic Staff Matter More Than Many Realise
Non-academic personnel—administrative officers, technologists, library staff, laboratory assistants, registry workers, bursary staff, and campus security—form the operational backbone of tertiary institutions. Lectures may stop when academic staff strike, but institutions grind to a complete halt when non-academic workers withdraw their services.
Student records cannot be processed, examinations cannot be administered, laboratories cannot function, and basic campus logistics collapse.
This interdependence explains why governments often move faster when non-academic unions threaten action. The current payment recognises that reality. It also highlights a recurring pattern in Nigeria’s tertiary education sector: agreements are signed with fanfare, implementation lags, arrears accumulate, unions issue ultimatums, and government responds with partial payments that buy temporary peace.
The CONTA and CATA structures themselves reflect attempts to consolidate and modernise allowances for staff in federal tertiary institutions. Their delayed rollout in 2026 has tested the credibility of the latest round of collective agreements. Double-digit inflation and rising living costs have further eroded the real value of any delayed payments, meaning the eight-month arrears, while welcome, arrive in an environment where purchasing power has already been significantly diminished.
Remaining Challenges
Nigeria’s public tertiary education system has long been characterised by cycles of industrial action.
Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strikes often dominate headlines, but non-academic unions such as SSANU and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) play equally critical roles in determining whether campuses remain functional. The 2022 industrial disputes left lasting scars, including the withheld salaries that remain unpaid years later.
The government’s twin payments of CATA and CONTA in early October 2026 represent an attempt to break, or at least interrupt, that cycle. By prioritising both academic and non-academic cadres almost simultaneously, the Ministry of Education under Alausa appears to be signalling a more even-handed approach to welfare issues.
Whether this becomes a sustained pattern or another episode of crisis management remains to be seen.
Analysts note that partial settlements, while politically expedient, rarely resolve underlying structural problems: inadequate budgetary provisions for tertiary education, inefficiencies in the payroll and payment systems, and the chronic gap between agreements signed and funds released. A stable tertiary system is repeatedly described by officials as essential to national socio-economic development, yet the sector continues to operate under conditions of perpetual financial uncertainty.
Alausa has pledged that the Federal Ministry of Education will sustain consultations with unions, institutional heads, and other stakeholders to address remaining issues. He appealed for continued cooperation from both academic and non-academic staff, emphasising that the welfare and motivation of personnel remain central to producing the skilled workforce Nigeria needs.
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Looking Ahead
For thousands of non-academic workers, the arrival of eight months’ CONTA arrears will provide immediate relief and restore some measure of confidence. For students and parents, it reduces the immediate risk of another prolonged disruption to the academic calendar. For the government, it buys breathing space and demonstrates responsiveness.
The true test, however, lies in whether the remaining outstanding entitlements are settled promptly and whether future agreements are implemented without the need for ultimatums. Industrial harmony in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions has rarely been achieved through last-minute payments alone. It requires consistent funding, transparent processes, and a genuine recognition that both the lecturers in the classroom and the staff who keep the institutions running day to day are indispensable to the country’s human capital ambitions.
As alerts begin to hit bank accounts across federal campuses, the temporary calm offers an opportunity. Whether stakeholders seize it to build a more predictable and sustainable relationship will determine if this latest intervention becomes a turning point or simply another pause in a familiar cycle.
Samuel O. Sulaimon is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Naijapiz. He covers News, Sports, Finance, Faiths, Education, Technology.
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