The Minister of Finance, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed, has announced that the sum of N470 billion has been provided in the 2023 federal budget as special fund for university revitalization and upward adjustment of lecturers’ salaries.
She explained, at a news briefing in Abuja today, October 19, that the sum of N300 billion is for university revitalization, while N170 billion is for upward adjustments of the university lecturers’ salaries, adding that it has been captured in the education vote of 2023 budget.
The position of the government may assuage members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), who are just resuming from eight-month strike over lecturers welfare, revitalization of public universities, among others.
Zainab Ahmed said that the draft 2023 budget has been prepared against the background of international challenges such as the Russia-Ukraine war and COVID-19 pandemic.
She complained that revenue generation has been a major challenge to national development in the country.
