Higher institutions the world over have the prime objective of imparting knowledge through teaching research and community service, since these institutions are labor intensive organizations, they can only achieve these objectives by paying adequate attention to human resource and its management as these are major determinants of organization success and performance (Abdulsalam & Mawoli, 2012). To effectively deliver these objectives, higher institutions of learning need effective job performance of academic staff in the areas of knowledge delivery, research and community services. Job performance will in turn bring about externalities in positive growth. Effective knowledge delivery for instance is expected to facilitate skill acquisition and entrepreneurship development which bring about poverty reduction in Nigeria. In addition, abundant research output will expand the frontiers of knowledge and accelerate social, economic, scientific and technological development of among other development in the country. Uzoka (2008) observes that academic institutions have constantly served as feeder institution in the overall development of nations through scientific research. Still academic staff community service engagements will develop engaged citizenship, foster civic responsibility, and contribute to the broader public good. Many factors can influence job performance of academic staff of higher institutions but Ngu (1998) observe that Motivation and ability are two key most important variables explaining employee performance. So, the performance of academic staff is not only function ability (qualification and competence) but also of motivation. Motivation as a concept, is concerned with the aspect of human life that energies propels and stimulates human beings to change behavior for the attainment of organizations goal/objectives, thereby achieving higher productivity (Ekere & Ugwu, 2011). Adeyemo (2002) views motivation as a positive attitude of worker towards his job and emotional state of mind from the views of one's job fulfilling. A multitude factors impact on academic staff motivation: working conditions, reward system, pay, and chance of promotion, achievement and prestigious position among others. Even within an organization, academic staff may demonstrate a diversity of personality. Some may show high performance by being given pay: others may eager to get recognized by management, colleague and society. Once organization show commitment to their employee, worker will in turn show positive attitude about their work, and the happier employee are with their job growth, the more motivated they will be.