In a sweeping concession to federal universities, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ended the contentious rule requiring institutions to secure recruitment clearance waivers from the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation before hiring academic and non-teaching personnel.
The directive hands full hiring powers back to university governing councils and the Federal Ministry of Education, removing years of bureaucratic gridlock that left departments across the country critically short of professors and lecturers.
Announcing the decision on Saturday at the maiden convocation of the Federal University of Health Sciences, Azare, where 50 pioneer graduates took their degrees, Tinubu revealed that the reform is anchored directly in recent agreements concluded between the Federal Government and university staff unions.
Tinubu, who serves as Visitor to all federal universities and spoke through the Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, Arc. Sonny Echono, affirmed that the move restores operational breathing room to university administrators.
“This measure empowers the Federal Ministry of Education and university Governing Councils to discharge their respective responsibilities in staff recruitment, enabling institutions to respond more effectively to their legitimate manpower needs,” the President said.
On payroll management, Tinubu announced that the Federal Government has begun moving workers in tertiary institutions off the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System and onto the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System.
He explained that transitioning to GIFMIS is structured to stop payroll irregularities, guarantee timely and correct salary payments, and finally accommodate the unique administrative demands of university staff that IPPIS failed to handle.
Detailing federal support for medical training, the President stated that the government provided N8 billion in takeoff funding through TETFund to establish the Azare institution after the COVID-19 pandemic laid bare glaring gaps in the nation’s healthcare system.
Tinubu added that additional capital provisions are set aside in the 2026 national budget, backed by regular and special TETFund disbursements, to build lecture theatres, laboratories, internal road networks, and provide operational vehicles across the campus.
The President disclosed that N10 billion has been allocated to the National Research Fund in the 2026 fiscal cycle, urging medical institutions to focus their studies on practical treatments for the country’s prevalent public health challenges.
On worker welfare, Tinubu confirmed that agreements have been concluded with unions across universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education to pay the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance and Consolidated Non-Teaching Tools Allowance, with both benefits taking effect on January 1, 2026.
“Both categories are indispensable to the delivery of quality education and national development,” Tinubu said.
On student welfare, the President stated that 1,798 FUHSA students, accounting for 43 percent of the entire student body, have been awarded loans through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund for the 2025/2026 academic year to ensure tuition costs do not derail their education.
Congratulating the 50 pioneer graduands, Tinubu tasked them with deploying their skills in communities lacking medical access, while urging the university management to deepen academic partnerships with Boston University, the University of Miami, and Universiti Sains Malaysia to boost teaching and hospital care.
