The Federal Government has resumed the payment of three years’ outstanding salary arrears owed to teachers and education officers in the Federal Unity Colleges.

Findings by The Guardian revealed that more than 2,000 affected workers began receiving the payments on August 28, 2026, following years of waiting for the government to clear the backlog.

The affected employees were among those recruited into the Federal Government Unity Colleges between 2019 and 2021, whose salaries subsequently accumulated into arrears.

Recall that the Nigerian government had commenced payment of the arrears in November 2025.

The development comes three years after The Guardian reported that the affected teachers protested at the Federal Ministry of Education, demanding payment of their outstanding salaries after several appeals to the government allegedly went unacknowledged.

However, a credible source at the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation confirmed that the payments had resumed, saying bank alerts had started reaching the accounts of the affected workers.

Confirming the development, the Taskforce Team Lead on Salary Arrears, Federal Ministry of Education, Bobby Mark Winful, said the payment of the outstanding salary arrears had commenced, adding that the process was being carried out in batches to ensure that all affected workers were duly paid.

He expressed appreciation to the President, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, as well as Permanent Secretaries, Federal Ministries of Education and Finance, for their roles in ensuring that the long-awaited payments became a reality.

He said: “After many years of waiting—indeed, nearly eight years for some officers who assumed duty in 2018—the long-awaited salary arrears have finally begun to reach our officers. This is a testimony of persistence, patience and the faithfulness of God.

“We warmly congratulate every officer who has received payment. We rejoice and celebrate this long-awaited breakthrough.

“We sincerely appreciate the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for the approval and release of funds, the Honourable Minister of Finance for the necessary approvals and efforts towards processing and payment, the Director-General and officers of the Budget Office of the Federation for accepting, compiling and processing our files, as well as the officers of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and Federal Ministry of Education who contributed in one way or another to making these payments a reality.” (The Guardian)