The Federal Government has commenced payment of the outstanding 25 per cent and 35 per cent salary arrears owed staff of some federal universities and polytechnics, while arrangements are being finalised to settle promotion arrears in batches.
The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) disclosed this on Thursday in Maiduguri.

The Chairman of SSANU, University of Maiduguri branch, made the disclosure during the union’s congress meeting, noting that several federal tertiary institutions had already received payments.

According to him, some institutions have been paid the arrears in full for a 12-month period, while others received partial payments based on the funds available in their respective allocations.
He explained that the payments were drawn from the balance of institutional allocations, which were expected to be cleared by the Federal Government in December 2025.

The SSANU chairman also said the Federal Government had approved the use of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) by universities to offset the outstanding arrears, pending full settlement by the government.
“Unfortunately, the management of the University of Maiduguri has made it clear that the institution does not have sufficient funds to settle the outstanding 25 per cent and 35 per cent arrears or any related liabilities at this time,” he said.

On promotion arrears, he disclosed that the Federal Government had approved the payment of all outstanding promotion arrears across federal tertiary institutions.

He explained that while some institutions had successfully submitted the required staff details, others experienced delays following a directive for bursary departments to resubmit documents at short notice.

“The resubmission period coincided with salary payment timelines, and some institutions could not meet the deadline. As a result, affected institutions will now be captured under Batch 9, as Batch 8 has already been closed,” he said.
According to him, Batch 9 payments are expected to be processed and fully paid between January and February 2026.
The SSANU chairman assured members that the union would continue to engage relevant authorities to ensure that all outstanding arrears were paid, urging affected staff to remain patient as the process was concluded.