Yobe Acting SSG Receives Academic Staff Welfare Report, Affirms Gov Buni’s Commitment To Staff Welfare

By Sani Gazas Chinade, Damaturu

The Yobe State Government has received the report of the Fact-Finding Committee constituted by Governor Hon. Mai Mala Buni, to review the welfare and remunerations of academic staff in selected state-owned universities across Nigeria.

A statement by Ibrahim Baba Saleh who is the Media Coordinator/Liaison Officer of the SSG said that the report was presented to the Acting Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Dr. Mohammed Goje, FRSPH, who received it on behalf of the Yobe State Government.

Receiving the report, Dr. Goje commended the committee for successfully carrying out its assignment with diligence, professionalism, and commitment and Buni remains committed to strengthening tertiary education through policies and programmes that improve the welfare of academic staff, enhance institutional performance, and sustain academic excellence.

The Acting SSG assured that the government would carefully study the committee’s findings and recommendations with a view to implementing practical and sustainable measures that would further improve staff welfare, strengthen institutional governance, and consolidate the gains already recorded in the education sector.

Dr. Goje noted that the Buni administration has continued to prioritise education through the construction of modern learning facilities, staff development initiatives, scholarship programmes, and strategic investments aimed at improving teaching, learning, research, and innovation across the state’s tertiary institutions.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Committee, Professor Muhammad Bello Kawuwa, represented by Professor Mohammed Musa Lawan, said that the committee diligently discharged its assignment in line with its terms of reference.

He explained that the committee undertook study visits to Sa’adu Zungur University (SAZU), Gadau, Bauchi State; Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology, Wudil, Kano State; and Kaduna State University (KASU), where members engaged with university managements, academic staff unions and other critical stakeholders.

According to him, the committee examined remuneration structures, staff welfare policies, funding mechanisms, institutional governance frameworks, and best practices in university administration before developing recommendations for the consideration of the Yobe State Government.

Among its key recommendations, the committee urged the state government to implement the 2025 Federal Government/Academic Staff Union of Universities (FGN/ASUU) Agreement relating to the payment of the Earned Academic Allowance (EAA), Conference Attendance and Training Allowance (CATA), and Professorial Allowance to improve staff motivation, curb brain drain, and retain highly qualified academic personnel.

The committee also recommended the payment of outstanding arrears, provision of research grants, implementation of annual salary increments, and other welfare incentives to enhance staff retention and strengthen the competitiveness of Yobe State-owned tertiary institutions.

It further advised the government to sustain adequate funding of state-owned tertiary institutions while encouraging them to diversify their internally generated revenue through commercial ventures, strategic investments, and other innovative financing initiatives.

The report equally recommended for the development of a comprehensive Yobe State Tertiary Education Policy to strengthen institutional governance, promote prudent financial management, improve accountability, and provide a sustainable framework for the administration of state-owned tertiary institutions.

In addition, the committee advised the university management to broaden its revenue base, improve financial discipline and pursue long-term institutional sustainability. It also recommended that the state government continue to shoulder electricity costs for its tertiary institutions, in line with the practice observed in other state-owned universities visited during the study.

Prof. Lawan commended Governor Buni’s administration for the remarkable transformation of Yobe State’s education sector through sustained investments in modern infrastructure, staff capacity development and reforms aimed at improving the quality of higher education, and thanked Governor Buni for the confidence reposed in the committee and the opportunity to undertake the assignment.