Malik Yahya/
More than 200 lecturers, including professors and other senior academics, have resigned from Kaduna State University (KASU) over poor remuneration and worsening conditions of service, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has revealed.
The union warned that the exodus could deepen unless the Kaduna State Government and university authorities urgently implement the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU Agreement.
Chairman of ASUU-KASU, Dr Abubakar Abdullahi, raised the alarm at a press conference in Kaduna on Monday, where the union handed the authorities a two-week ultimatum to domesticate and implement the agreement or risk a total and indefinite strike.
Abdullahi said many of the academics who left KASU had secured appointments in newer universities within and outside Kaduna State, attracted by better pay and welfare packages.
According to him, the continuing loss of experienced lecturers poses a serious threat to teaching, research and the overall academic development of the university.
He warned that replacing highly trained academics, particularly professors and other experienced scholars, could take years and require substantial resources.
The ASUU chairman attributed the brain drain largely to poor remuneration and deteriorating welfare conditions, saying KASU lecturers had become some of the least-paid university academics in the country.
He said the situation was particularly troubling because KASU had previously earned a reputation for prioritising staff welfare.
Abdullahi explained that the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU Agreement, which took effect in January 2026, provided improved conditions of service for academic staff in Nigerian universities.
More than eight months after the agreement was reached, however, he said implementation had yet to begin at KASU.
He disclosed that the union had written several letters to the university management and Governing Council and had also notified the Visitor to the university, Governor Uba Sani.
According to him, ASUU-KASU had engaged relevant stakeholders in an effort to resolve the dispute and preserve industrial harmony, but the engagements had yet to produce the desired outcome.
Abdullahi said several federal universities and some state-owned institutions had already commenced implementation of the agreement, while others had announced timelines for settling accrued arrears.
He warned that further delay at KASU would continue to increase salary arrears dating back to January 2026 and widen the remuneration gap between its lecturers and their counterparts elsewhere.
The union’s congress, he said, met on August 12 to review the situation and subsequently resolved to declare an industrial dispute.
According to Abdullahi, the decision was also in line with a resolution of ASUU’s National Executive Council meeting held at the University of Abuja on August 8 and 9.
He said the two-week ultimatum was issued in accordance with established procedures for resolving industrial disputes and was intended to give the authorities a final opportunity to take concrete action.
Beyond the implementation of the 2025 agreement, ASUU-KASU also listed several unresolved local issues affecting its members.
These include university autonomy, excessive workload, outstanding promotion arrears, death benefits, group life insurance coverage, wage awards and pension remittances.
Abdullahi urged the Kaduna State Government and KASU authorities to treat the issues with urgency, warning that failure to resolve them could plunge the university into an indefinite industrial action.
He also appealed to parents and other stakeholders to intervene and support efforts to avert a shutdown of academic activities.
The union, he said, remained committed to pursuing its demands through lawful means and hoped the government and university authorities would act before the ultimatum expires.
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