President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved new special allowances for senior academics in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions, granting additional financial benefits to full-time Professors and Readers.
This was announced by the Minister of Education, Dr Olatunji Alausa, on Wednesday while unveiling the renegotiated 2009 agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
According to him, the new allowances for senior academics at the level of full-time Professors and Readers in the tertiary institutions.
Under the new arrangement, full-time Professors will receive an annual allowance of N1.74 million, which translates to N140,000 monthly. Readers will also benefit from the policy, earning N840,000 annually, or N70,000 per month.
Tagged ‘Professorial Cadre Allowance’, the Minister explained that this was specifically designed to support research coordination, academic documentation, correspondence, and administrative efficiency, thereby enabling scholars to focus more effectively on teaching, innovation, mentorship, and global knowledge production.
He emphasised that this defining feature of the agreement directly responds to the daily operational realities of our senior academics.
“For the first time, the Federal Government has approved a new Professorial Cadre Allowance. This allowance applies to senior academics at the level of full-time Professors and Readers in our tertiary institutions.
“Let me emphasise clearly that this allowance applies strictly to full-time, and not part-time, professors and readers.
This approval recognises the significant workload, administrative, scholarly, and research responsibilities borne by academics at these levels by virtue of their positions. The allowance is structured as follows: N1,740,000 per annum — equivalent to N140,000 per month — for Professors; and
N840,000 per annum — equivalent to N70,000 per month — for Readers.
“This intervention is not cosmetic. It is structural, practical, and transformative,” Alausa stated.
He noted that with the total support, direction, and guidance of President Tinubu, the government confronted what many had described as an intractable problem and has been resolved decisively, now and into the future.
He noted that the occasion represents far more than the unveiling of a document but symbolises renewed trust, restored confidence, and a decisive turning point in the history of Nigeria’s tertiary education system.
The Minister who lamented that for decades, unresolved remuneration concerns, welfare gaps, and recurring industrial disputes disrupted academic calendars, undermined staff morale, and threatened the future of our young people, said the new agreement was a clear demonstration of the commitment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to quality, accessible, and uninterrupted academic calendars for all Nigerian students in the tertiary institutions.