Tinubu says federal universities can hire without waivers: what it means for you

Federal universities no longer need recruitment waivers from the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation to hire staff, President Bola Tinubu said on Saturday, 17 October 2026, at the maiden convocation of the Federal University of Health Sciences, Azare (FUHSA), in Bauchi State.

The President, who is the university’s Visitor, was represented by the Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Sonny Echono. “As part of our commitment to greater institutional efficiency and autonomy, the Federal Government has removed universities from the requirement to obtain recruitment waivers,” he said, according to the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation.

Why does it matter?

The waiver rule decided how fast a federal university could fill a vacant post, including one left by a retiring lecturer. “Before now when the tertiary institutions want to make an appointment, they have to write to the Office of the Head of Service for waiver or approval,” the then Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, explained in December 2023, THISDAY reported.

Under the new arrangement, the Federal Ministry of Education and each university’s governing council handle staff recruitment. “This measure empowers the federal ministry of education and university Governing Councils to discharge their respective responsibilities in staff recruitment, enabling institutions to respond more effectively to their legitimate manpower needs,” the President said, TheCable reported.

Is this a new decision?

Not entirely. In December 2023, the Federal Executive Council approved taking universities, polytechnics and colleges of education off the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) and freeing them from seeking the Head of Service’s approval to recruit, ministers told reporters at the time.

What is new is that the President said the exemption is now documented in the recent agreements the government signed with university staff unions, TheCable reported. The government’s new agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) took effect on 1 January 2026, The Guardian reported.

What is changing with salaries?

The President said the government is moving staff of tertiary institutions from IPPIS to the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS). He said the aim is to improve payroll efficiency, transparency and accountability, pay salaries on time and accurately, and suit the way tertiary institutions operate.

IPPIS has long been a sore point for lecturers. It was at the centre of ASUU’s eight-month strike in 2020, when the union pushed for its own payment platform, UTAS, THISDAY reported.

What does it mean for you?

• Job seekers: hiring for federal universities should no longer wait on a waiver from the Head of Service. Recruitment decisions now sit with the Ministry of Education and university governing councils.
• Lecturers and non-teaching staff: your salary is due to move from IPPIS to GIFMIS. The President did not give a date.
• Students: the President said the goal is a university system that can attract and keep the talent needed for teaching, research and innovation.

What else did the President say in Azare?

• Funding: FUHSA received an initial ₦8 billion intervention through TETFund to support its establishment, and the government provided ₦10 billion for the National Research Fund in 2026, he said.
• Student loans: 1,798 FUHSA students received support from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) for the 2025/2026 session, which he said is 43 per cent of the university’s students, Tribune Online reported.
• Graduates: 50 pioneer students graduated, all from the Department of Human Nutrition and Dietetics.

What happens next

• The payroll move: watch for the Federal Ministry of Education to set out when university staff will be paid through GIFMIS.
• Vacancies: watch how quickly federal universities advertise and fill posts under the new arrangement, and whether the unions say the agreements are being carried out.

Do you work in a federal university, or are you waiting on a job offer from one? Tell GistMatrix how hiring has worked for you.