►Intervention comes amid long-standing concerns over utilisation of previous allocations

By: Francis Oluwapelumi 

The Federal Government has released ₦50 billion from the ₦200 billion Needs Assessment Intervention Fund promised under its recent agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa disclosed this during an interview on Arise News Channel on Sunday, January 25, 2026.

“We have paid ₦50 billion, and we have another ₦50 billion waiting to be disbursed,” Alausa said while reaffirming President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to education.

According to the minister, the Ministry’s Implementation and Monitoring Committee will meet with heads of universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education in the second week of February to determine how the funds will be utilised.

The Needs Assessment Intervention Fund is part of the 2009 agreement between ASUU and the Federal Government, the renegotiation of which was due in 2013 but stalled for over a decade. The agreement was concluded on December 23, 2025, and officially unveiled on January 14, 2026.

The intervention focuses on assessing and upgrading teaching and learning facilities in public universities, including lecture theatres, laboratories, workshops and studios, as well as essential municipal services such as roads, water supply, electricity, security, health and recreational facilities.

Despite repeated interventions, many public universities continue to struggle with deteriorating infrastructure, prompting concerns among students and stakeholders about how earlier allocations were utilised.