Ministry of Finance announced that President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the immediate release of N22.68billion & N20billion as retirement benefits of ex-workers of the Nigeria Airways Limited (in Liquidation) & Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU)’s request for revitalization fund of public universities.
Regarding the settlement of outstanding retirement benefits due to the ex-workers of the Nigeria Airways, the initial submission for their retirement benefits was N78 billion.
This amount was verified by Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA), and other relevant stakeholders in line with the condition of service of Nigeria Airways Limited in liquidation and other extant rules and regulations. At the end of verification, N45 billion was agreed as total retirement benefits of affected staff.
Regarding funding measures for the Revitalization of Public Universities, you may recall that ASUU signed a MoU with the FG sometimes in 2013 on the terms and conditions on which the government would improve funding for staff welfare and provision of critical infrastructure.
However, the implementation of this bilateral agreement has had certain challenges due to revenue shortages and other reasons.
President Muhammadu Buhari in his determination to revitalize Public Universities and ensure smooth running of the tertiary education system, has approved the sum of N20 billion for immediate release for Public Universities through the revitalization scheme.
These funds will be released to beneficiary universities in line with the established criteria used by the National Universities Commission (NUC). Progress of the implementation will be monitored with a view to resolving emerging issues and keeping the government’s promises to relevant stakeholders.
