President Bola Tinubu has exempted federal universities from the requirement to obtain recruitment waivers from the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF), a move expected to give institutions greater flexibility in hiring staff.
Tinubu announced the exemption at the maiden convocation of the Federal University of Health Sciences, Azare (FUHSA), in Bauchi State, on Saturday.
Represented by Sonny Echono, executive secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), the president said the exemption was documented in recent agreements signed with university staff unions.
He said the reform would empower the Federal Ministry of Education and university governing councils to make recruitment decisions based on institutions’ staffing needs.
“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,” he said.
The president also announced plans to improve personnel and payroll administration across tertiary institutions by migrating their staff from the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) to the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS).
According to Tinubu, the transition is intended to improve payroll efficiency, transparency and accountability, ensure timely and accurate salary payments, and accommodate the operational peculiarities of tertiary institutions.
“This measure is part of our broader commitment to strengthening institutional autonomy, improving personnel and payroll management, and creating an enabling environment for effective teaching, research, innovation and service delivery,” he said.
Tinubu reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to strengthening tertiary education through infrastructure development, research funding and improved welfare for university personnel.
He said FUHSA had received an initial ₦8 billion intervention through TETFund to support its establishment, following the COVID-19 pandemic, which exposed critical gaps in Nigeria’s healthcare system.
He added that further investments would be channelled to the university through TETFund’s regular and special interventions, as well as allocations in the 2026 national budget for roads, lecture halls, laboratories and utility vehicles.
The president also disclosed that the Federal Government had provided ₦10 billion for the National Research Fund in 2026, urging universities, particularly specialised institutions such as FUHSA, to undertake research addressing the country’s pressing health challenges.
Established in 2021 during the second term of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, FUHSA graduated about 50 students at its maiden convocation on Saturday.
A recruitment waiver is an approval a federal government institution may be required to obtain from the OHCSF before hiring new employees. The requirement can affect how quickly federal universities fill vacancies, replace retiring staff and recruit additional academic and non-academic personnel.
