The Kebbi State Government has released N172 million to forestall a looming strike by academic and non-academic staff at the state-owned Abdullahi Fodio University of Science and Technology, Aliero (AFUSTA). The State Governor, Nasir Idris, approved the release on August 14, 2026, for the payment of the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowances (CATA) and Consolidated Non-Teaching Tools Allowances (CONTTA) to members of ASUU, SSANU, NASU and NAAT at the university.
FILE: Kebbi State Governor, Nasir Idris. Credit: X/@NasiridrisKG
The intervention comes at a critical moment for the institution, which had been on the brink of a full-blown industrial dispute. The university’s ASUU branch had earlier issued a two-week warning strike notice to the state government and the university’s governing board over unresolved demands, running from July 31 to August 13, attributing the action to the failure of the Federal Government to fully implement the 2025 ASUU/FG agreement, alongside other outstanding welfare issues affecting its members. Vanguard News
The union had made clear that a failure to act within that window would leave it with no option but to proceed on a total, comprehensive and indefinite strike until all outstanding issues were completely resolved. In a statement jointly signed by the union’s Chairman, Dr Isah Musa-Fakai, and Secretary, Dr Gado Abubakar, ASUU stressed that the ultimatum was meant to serve as a reminder to stakeholders and all concerned authorities to act on the union’s lingering demands. Channels Television The union maintained that industrial action was always treated as a last resort, pursued only after dialogue and constructive engagement had failed, while reaffirming its commitment to peaceful resolution of the dispute. Channels Television
The dispute at AFUSTA had also drawn wider attention from the ASUU Sokoto Zone leadership, which in July singled out Kebbi as the worst-performing state among its zonal universities for failing to pay Earned Academic Allowances owed to academic staff since 2014. The zonal body had urged Kebbi, alongside Katsina and Zamfara states, to implement the 2025 Federal Government/ASUU agreement to avert a coordinated indefinite strike across the affected institutions. Vanguard News
Tuesday’s release of funds for CATA and CONTTA payments falls squarely within the category of welfare demands that had driven the union’s ultimatum, addressing allowances tied directly to the tools and materials staff rely on for academic and non-teaching work. The gesture also fits a broader pattern under Governor Idris, whose administration has in recent months directed significant funding toward tertiary education in the state, including large-scale support for students’ tuition, registration fees and overseas scholarships.
With the release coming just a day after the expiration of ASUU’s ultimatum, the government’s intervention appears timed to head off the indefinite strike the union had threatened, though it remains to be seen whether the payment fully satisfies the broader set of demands raised by the union, including the outstanding implementation of the 2025 FGN/ASUU agreement. Further clarity is expected in the coming days on whether the union will formally stand down from its threatened industrial action following the disbursement.
