Over 200 professors, academics leave KASU over poor conditions

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Kaduna State University (KASU) Chapter, says more than 200 professors and other academic staff have left the university due to poor conditions of service and the non-implementation of the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU Agreement.

The union has consequently issued a two-week ultimatum to the university authorities and other relevant stakeholders to commence the full implementation and domestication of the agreement, warning that failure to do so could lead to a total, comprehensive and indefinite strike.

The chairman of ASUU-KASU, Abubakar Abdullahi, gave the warning on Monday at a press conference held at the union’s secretariat at Kaduna State University, Kaduna. He said that the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement, which provides for improved conditions of service for academic staff in Nigerian universities, took effect in January 2026, but its implementation had yet to commence at KASU.

According to him, “The union has written several letters to the university management, Governing Council and the Visitor to the university, the Governor of Kaduna State and urged them to domesticate and implement the agreement in accordance with the law establishing the institution.”

He said the union had also engaged stakeholders within and outside the state to intervene in the matter in an effort to maintain peace, stability and industrial harmony at the university. He, however, stated that eight months after the agreement was signed, KASU was yet to commence its implementation, while almost all federal universities and several state universities had either implemented the agreement or announced timelines for its implementation, including the payment of accrued arrears.

The ASUU-KASU chairman said the delay had resulted in academic staff at the university becoming among the least-paid university workers in the country, despite KASU’s previous reputation for prioritising staff welfare.

He warned that continued delay in implementing the agreement would lead to the accumulation of salary arrears dating back to January 2026.

The union also attributed the departure of experienced academic staff, including professors and other lecturers, to poor conditions of service, warning that the loss of such personnel could take years for the university to recover from.

The chairman said the union’s Congress, at a meeting held on August 12, 2026, resolved to declare an industrial dispute and embark on a total, comprehensive and indefinite strike, in line with the resolution of the National Executive Council (NEC) of ASUU, which met at the University of Abuja on August 8 and 9, 2026.

He said the two-week ultimatum was issued in accordance with established procedures governing industrial disputes, giving the university authorities time to take concrete steps towards the full implementation and domestication of the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement.

ASUU-KASU also listed several outstanding local issues affecting its members, including university autonomy, excessive workload, promotion arrears, death benefits, group life insurance coverage, the 25 and 35 per cent wage awards, and pension remittances.

The union urged the university management and other relevant authorities to treat the issues with urgency and provide satisfactory responses to avert industrial disharmony and preserve peace and stability at the institution.

It also appealed to parents, stakeholders and well-meaning Nigerians to intervene in the matter to help avert the looming strike.