Earned Allowances Paid To Varsities, Buhari Insists

President Muhammadu Bu­hari, on Saturday, insisted that the Federal Govern­ment had released funds for the payment of earned allowances and revitalisa­tion to universities....CONTINUE READING

Buhari, who identified funding as a major problem confronting the Nigerian university system and as well the primary basis of incessant industrial actions in the ivory tower, said his administration had “consis­tently paid serious attention to the issue of university funding”.

The President, who was represented by a Director in the National Universi­ties Commission, John Ah­madu, spoke at the 5th and 6th combined convocation ceremonies of the Federal University, Oye Ekiti, where 2,599 students graduated across all the departments.

Buhari said his adminis­tration had handled fund­ing issues in universities “through multiple sources, including education bud­gets across various Min­istries, Departments and Agencies, but most impor­tantly through the Federal Ministry of Education as well as the Tertiary Educa­tion Trust Fund. As a gov­ernment, we will not relent on this commitment.”

He added: “We will con­tinue to support the uni­versity system through improved funding and infra­structural development. In this regard, my government has repositioned the TET­FUND to be able to address the infrastructural gaps in our tertiary institutions.

“As an evidence of our commitment to the welfare of university staff, the Fed­eral Government recently released funds for the pay­ment of Earned Allowances as well as the revitilisation of universities. We will continue to do more within available resources consid­ering other competing na­tional needs.”