Side view portrait of black female scientist wearing magnifying glasses and inspecting electronic parts in quality control lab
The National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) has demanded the immediate release of an additional ₦50 billion in earned allowances exclusively for its members.
In a statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja following its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, NAAT President, Mr Ibeji Nwokoma, condemned what he described as an unjust and unfair sharing formula adopted by the Federal Ministry of Education.
Titled “Rejection of the Unfair and Unjust Sharing Formula Adopted by the Federal Ministry of Education on ₦50 Billion Earned Allowances”, the statement also criticised the role of the National Universities Commission (NUC) in the disbursement process.
According to Nwokoma, 80 per cent of the ₦50 billion was allocated to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), while the remaining 20 per cent was split among NAAT, the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU).
NAAT, he said, rejected this allocation and demanded a separate ₦50 billion fund for its members, as stipulated in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the Federal Government on 17 August 2022.
“We call for fairness, equity, and justice,” Nwokoma said. “Allocating 80 per cent of the funds to one union, while sidelining others, is clearly discriminatory and unacceptable.”
He questioned the rationale behind the distribution and warned that the unequal treatment of unions threatened industrial harmony within the university system.
Highlighting the crucial role of academic technologists in advancing teaching and research—the core mandates of universities—he warned that continued marginalisation could undermine practical learning and research capacity, potentially leading to a generation of unemployable graduates due to insufficient hands-on skills.
