More than 200 professors and other academic staff have left Kaduna State University over poor conditions of service and the university’s failure to implement the 2025 Federal Government–Academic Staff Union of Universities agreement, the KASU chapter of ASUU has said.
The ASUU-KASU chairman, Dr Abubakar Abdullahi, disclosed this on Monday at a press conference held at the union’s secretariat at Kaduna State University.
According to Abdullahi, the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU Agreement, which was designed to improve the conditions of service of university academic staff, took effect in January 2026. He said, however, that implementation had yet to begin at KASU.
He said the union had written several letters to the university management, the Governing Council and the Visitor to the university, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani, urging the authorities to domesticate and implement the agreement in accordance with the law establishing the institution.
Abdullahi said the union had also engaged stakeholders within and outside Kaduna State in an effort to resolve the matter and maintain industrial harmony at the university.
He expressed concern that eight months after the agreement was signed, KASU had still not commenced implementation, while several federal and state universities had either implemented the agreement or announced timelines for its implementation, including the payment of accrued arrears.
The ASUU chairman said the delay had left KASU academic staff among the least-paid university workers in the country.
He further warned that continued failure to implement the agreement would result in the accumulation of salary arrears dating back to January 2026.
Abdullahi attributed the departure of more than 200 experienced academic staff, including professors and other lecturers, to the poor conditions of service. Vanguard reported that many of the lecturers who left had secured appointments at newer universities within and outside Kaduna State.
He warned that losing experienced academic staff could take years for the university to recover from.
The ASUU-KASU chairman said the union’s Congress, at a meeting on August 12, resolved to declare an industrial dispute and embark on a total, comprehensive and indefinite strike. The decision, he said, was in line with the resolution of ASUU’s National Executive Council meeting held at the University of Abuja on August 8 and 9.
The union subsequently gave the university authorities and other relevant stakeholders two weeks to begin the full implementation and domestication of the 2025 agreement.
Abdullahi warned that failure to address the matter within the period could trigger a total and indefinite strike at the university.
ASUU-KASU also identified other outstanding 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 called on the university management and other relevant authorities to urgently address the issues and provide satisfactory responses to prevent industrial action and preserve stability at Kaduna State University.
