The Kaduna State Government has dismissed claims by the Academic Staff Union of Universities Kaduna State University chapter, that about 200 professors and other academic staff have resigned from the institution because of poor working conditions.
The government also appealed to KASU lecturers to abandon any plan to embark on an indefinite strike, maintaining that dialogue remains the most effective means of resolving the union’s grievances.
The Principal Private Secretary to Governor Uba Sani, Professor Bello Ayuba, made the position known on Wednesday at a press briefing held at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, Kaduna, while responding to the two-week ultimatum issued by KASU-ASUU.
Ayuba said government records indicated that 59 academic staff had left the university between January 2024 and August 2026. He said the figure included professors and associate professors who departed through voluntary resignation or transfer of service.
Providing a breakdown, he said: “Two professors had left during the period, two associate professors, six senior lecturers, ten of the rank of Lecturer I, 15 of the rank of Lecturer II, and 12 each of the rank of Assistant Lecturer and Graduate Assistant.”
He argued that staff departures in a university should not, by themselves, be regarded as proof of deteriorating working conditions.
“Generally, staff movements reflect the dynamism of a university, including the coming on stream of new universities and the upward mobility that go with it, which attract staff of various ranks, as well as retirement and completion of temporary, visiting, sabbatical and contract appointments,” he said.
Ayuba described the assertion that poor conditions of service were responsible for all staff departures as “pure mischief”, insisting that such claims ought to be supported with verifiable evidence.
The state government also defended its record on staff welfare, stating that the Sani administration had committed more than N896 million directly to staff welfare at KASU.
According to Ayuba, the government released more than N146.4 million to the university in May 2025 to settle withheld salaries and outstanding Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) allowances inherited from the previous administration.
He said the government had additionally approved a monthly intervention of N50 million for KASU to settle staff-related and other sundry claims.
“Other outstanding personnel liabilities settled by the present administration include the sum of over N118 million accounting for the 60 per cent and 36 per cent of unpaid salary in 2017, over N96 million paid as arrears of hazard allowance,” he said.
Ayuba further disclosed that the government had paid more than N896 million in outstanding salaries owed from 2022, taking the total personnel liabilities settled at KASU to over N1 billion.
“I don’t believe you can term this administration as indifferent to the welfare of its staff,” Ayuba said.
Addressing concerns over pensions and insurance, he said the government was aware of difficulties surrounding KASU’s group life insurance arrangement. He added that the state was considering the creation of a separate life insurance fund for tertiary institutions across Kaduna.
Ayuba also outlined several investments made by the administration in the education sector, with particular emphasis on tertiary institutions.
He said KASU had received more than N200 million in overhead funding for laboratory chemicals and reagents, students’ field trips, examinations and other academic activities.
The state government, he added, had invested over N300 million in accreditation and resource verification exercises. The funding, he said, contributed to the accreditation of more than 57 academic programmes and the successful verification of 60 programmes by the National Universities Commission.
He further disclosed that seven professional programmes at the university had obtained full accreditation.
“KASU has attracted global academic partnerships from Russia, Egypt, the United Kingdom, Indonesia and China, among others, owing much to the effort made by the state government to raise the academic standard of the university to an international level,” Ayuba said.
He said the university had also established 14 research centres and two specialised institutes while attracting research grants from local and international sources, including a N1 billion TETFund grant for commercial agriculture.
The government also cited its 50 per cent reduction in tuition fees at state-owned tertiary institutions and the expenditure of more than N1.6 billion on local and international scholarships as further evidence of its commitment to education.
On KASU-ASUU’s demand for implementation of the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU agreement, Ayuba said the state government was prepared to address legitimate provisions of the agreement. However, he faulted the union for allegedly failing to first engage the appropriate authorities before issuing its ultimatum.
He explained that the agreement recognised the peculiar circumstances of individual universities and required ASUU branches to engage their respective proprietors on matters concerning staff welfare, libraries, research and staff development.
“KASU-ASUU has not deemed it necessary to initiate discussions with the authorities on the 2025 agreement,” he said.
According to Ayuba, threatening industrial action without first exhausting available avenues for dialogue was counterproductive.
“Apparently, ASUU believes it should bring to the attention of the authorities the matter through the now well-beaten road of strike and threats of strikes, which have not resolved concerns with any effect in the past,” he said.
While acknowledging that KASU faces challenges like other major universities, Ayuba said the state government remained committed to resolving the institution’s problems within the limits of available resources.
“It is practically impossible that a high-flying university like KASU will not have challenges. There are and are being addressed within the limits permitted by other competing demands on the government,” he said.
He nevertheless criticised the union’s approach to addressing the issues confronting the institution.
“But the route chosen by ASUU to resolve the challenges is faulty. There are established mechanisms and channels for addressing challenges in the system which, in this case, were not followed,” Ayuba said.
The governor’s aide called on ASUU and the university management to resume negotiations, cautioning that prolonged industrial action could negatively affect students.
“Industrial action by its nature is disruptive and should therefore remain a measure of last resort,” he said.
The government’s briefing followed a two-week ultimatum issued by KASU-ASUU over demands for the implementation of the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU agreement. The union had warned that failure to address its demands could result in a total and indefinite strike.
