The national administration has taken steps to soothe building unease within state-owned universities, endorsing an updated compensation deal for non-instructional personnel that escalates yearly risk benefits by as much as N126,000, effective back to January 1, 2026.
The modified framework, detailed in an official notice from the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) stamped July 20, 2026, codifies a pact reached between public officials and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) on June 29, 2026, concluding months of dialogue that had threatened campus workplace calm.
The directive, endorsed by Adighiogu Chiadi, acting scribe for the panel, was dispatched to the president’s chief aide, the secretary to the central government, the head of public service, and permanent secretaries across Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) as well as higher institutions, reflecting the scope of the payroll recalculation currently moving through official channels.
Central to the update is a reassessment of the practical, workshop, facility, clinical, and workplace risk benefit, which had last been updated under a 2009 accord.
It stated that the federal government had approved the payment of the consolidated non-teaching tools allowance and reviewed earned allowances for eligible non-teaching staff in federal universities.
The circular read, “Following the agreement between the federal government of Nigeria and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions dated June 29, 2026, the federal government has approved the payment of the following allowances to non-teaching staff members of NASU in federal universities.”
Among the most significant adjustments is the review of the laboratory, workshop, studio, clinical and occupational hazard allowance.
For employees on CONTISS 1-5, the annual hazard allowance was increased from N180,000 under the 2009 agreement to N243,000, representing an increase of N63,000. For workers on CONTISS 6-15, the allowance rose from N360,000 annually to N486,000 annually, an increase of N126,000, although lower than the union’s demand of N720,000 annually.
The circular also retained call duty, shift duty and clinical hazard allowances in accordance with existing National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission circulars.
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For high-risk allowance, the commission stated that payments would continue to be implemented through the Employee Compensation framework in line with the Employees’ Compensation Act 2010 and the NSIWC Circular Ref. No. CM/15/IV/13 dated September 22, 2023, instead of a fixed annual payment.
The agency additionally raised payments tied to practical trips, instructional exercises, technical oversight, and student practical experience programs, broadly elevating them by nearly one-third across CONTISS levels 1–15, though remaining well below the labor union’s target sums.
For the first time, personnel handling research spaces, workshops, and creative studios will also obtain a gear and protective attire stipend, set uniformly at N80,000 per year across all three affected pay tiers, compared to union requests seeking N240,000 to N360,000.
Not every item was retained. The provisioning gear allotment has been merged into a newly unified non-teaching equipment compensation; project monitoring benefits were eliminated because they overlap with standard duties; and student/staff ratio support in research facilities will henceforth be addressed under surplus assignment arrangements.
The surplus assignment stipend itself, presently set at N3,500 hourly and capped at 52 hours yearly for CONTISS 09–15 employees, was maintained at its current rate rather than elevated to the N10,000 sought by NASU, with the governing board instructing that it be phased out completely over time.
NASU had persistently maintained that its accrued entitlements, largely established during a 2009 accord, had been diminished by rising inflation and currency depreciation, leaving non-instructional employees who maintain academic management, research spaces, and student welfare operations progressively undercompensated relative to daily expenses.
This update arrives as central authorities endeavor to prevent further industrial disputes throughout the tertiary education sector following the rollout of the updated baseline wage, with dialogues persisting alongside other academic labor groups, including the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, which alongside NASU, has repeatedly halted work in recent years over unremitted accrued benefits and unfulfilled pledges.
