The Federal Government has released the full Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance (CATA) owed to academic staff in federal universities, polytechnics and colleges of education for the first eight months of 2026.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Wednesday shortly after inaugurating the Ministerial Committee on Accreditation.
According to the minister, the payment covers the period from January to August 2026 and is being made in line with the provisions of the 2025 Federal Government–Academic Staff Union of Universities agreement.
Alausa said the affected institutions had been notified to commence payment to eligible academic staff.
CATA is designed to assist lecturers with expenses related to their academic responsibilities, including teaching, research, academic publications, conference participation, internet access, membership of professional and learned societies, and the purchase of academic books and other materials.
The latest release follows an earlier payment in June, when the Federal Government released funds to settle five months of accumulated CATA arrears for eligible academic staff in federal universities. The National Universities Commission subsequently directed vice-chancellors to ensure the outstanding payments were cleared.
The allowance forms part of the revised remuneration framework agreed between the Federal Government and academic unions following the renegotiated agreement signed in January 2026. The agreement included a 40 per cent upward review of the emoluments of university academic staff, with CATA forming an important component of the revised package.
The Federal Government later extended the revised remuneration arrangements to academic staff in federal polytechnics and colleges of education following agreements with their respective unions.
Meanwhile, Alausa disclosed that payment to non-academic staff was still being processed. He expressed optimism that funds for their payment would be made available in the coming weeks.
The minister described the payment as another indication of President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to improving the welfare of workers in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.
The development is expected to ease some of the concerns surrounding delayed implementation of agreements between the Federal Government and education unions, particularly as welfare and outstanding allowances have remained recurring issues in Nigeria’s tertiary education sector.
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