The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has refuted claims by the Federal Government that N50 billion has been released to clear outstanding earned academic allowances for university lecturers.
In an exclusive statement to SaharaReporters on Wednesday, ASUU President, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, voiced doubt over the announcement, stating that the union has not received any confirmation of payment.
“You said the government released N50 billion to ASUU, then why mention other staff? Every union negotiates separately for its members—it’s not a general agreement,” Osodeke remarked. He emphasized that ASUU has only received verbal assurances and no formal documentation or financial transactions have been shown to the union.
“We’re aware of the claim, but until we see concrete evidence, we don’t believe it,” he said. “There’s been no payment so far—just talk.”
Earlier, the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Alausa, had issued a press statement through the Ministry’s Director of Press, Folasade Boriowo, asserting that the funds were released to both academic and non-academic staff of federal universities.
The statement framed the release as a demonstration of President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to revitalizing the education sector, improving infrastructure, supporting workforce development, and promoting staff welfare in tertiary institutions.
While the government presented the move as a solution to persistent strikes and a way to ensure continued academic stability, ASUU maintains that it will only accept the claim when actual payments are made and verified.