By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
The Federal Government has announced the full payment of the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance (CATA) to academic staff in federal universities, polytechnics and colleges of education for the period January to August 2026.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Wednesday, 9 September, 2026 shortly after inaugurating the Ministerial Committee on Accreditation, explaining that the payment was made in accordance with the 2025 Federal Government–Academic Staff Union of Universities agreement.
CATA is a financial allowance provided to academic staff to support the purchase of essential tools and materials required for teaching, research and other academic activities.
Alausa said the affected institutions had already been notified to begin disbursing the funds to their academic staff.
“The Office of the Minister of Education is happy to announce that the full CATA payment has now been released by the Federal Government from January to August 2026 to all universities, all polytechnics and colleges of education. All these institutions should have received notification to start paying CATA to all academic staff,” he said.
The Minister disclosed that payment to non-academic staff was also being processed and would be released in the coming weeks.
“And also, the payment to non-academic staff, we’re hoping that these funds will be made available, hopefully, in the next few weeks,” he said.
Alausa linked the disbursement to President Bola Tinubu’s broader commitment to staff welfare in tertiary institutions.
“This is another indication of President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to our academic and non-academic staff. President Bola Tinubu made a commitment to ensuring that the quality and welfare of our staff are prioritised. He has prioritised the welfare of our staff,” he said.
The Minister said the administration’s reforms extended beyond staff welfare into infrastructure and educational investment.
“Beyond prioritising the welfare of our staff, he has also significantly invested in infrastructure at all our tertiary institutions and also basic and postgraduate education,” he said.
He said the administration remained committed to ensuring Nigerian children receive globally competitive education.
“This is a President that believes so much in education. He has delivered beyond his promises to ensure that every single child in this country gets the highest quality of education comparable to anywhere in the world,” Alausa said.
He commended President Tinubu for what he described as a transformative initiative in the education sector.
