ASUU-KASU issues 2-week strike notice, decries mass exit of professors

From Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

The Academic Staff Union of Universities, (ASUU), Kaduna State University Chapter, has expressed concern over the mass departure of more than 200 professors and other academic staff from the institution.
The union blames poor working conditions and the failure to implement the 2025 Federal Government agreement.
To this end, the union issued a two-week deadline to the university management and relevant stakeholders to begin full domestication and implementation of the agreement.
It warns that failure to act will lead to a comprehensive and indefinite strike.
ASUU-KASU Chairman, Comrade Abubakar Abdullahi, announced this on Monday during a press conference at the union’s secretariat in Kaduna.
He stated that the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement, aimed at improving conditions of service for academic staff at Nigerian universities, took effect in January 2026, but KASU has yet to implement it.
“We have written several letters to the university management, Governing Council, and the Visitor to the university, the Governor of Kaduna State, urging them to domesticate and implement the agreement in accordance with the law establishing the institution,” Abdullahi said.
He added that the union has also engaged stakeholders within and outside the state to intervene to maintain peace, stability, and industrial harmony at the university.
The chairman expressed concern that, more than eight months after the agreement was signed, nearly all federal universities and many state universities have either implemented the agreement or announced timelines for implementation, including payment of accrued arrears. Meanwhile, KASU has yet to start.
“The delay has turned academic staff of KASU into some of the least-paid university workers in the country, despite the university’s previous reputation for prioritizing staff welfare,” he stated.
Abdullahi warned that continued delays could lead to the accumulation of salary arrears dating back to January 2026, worsening the conditions of lecturers.
He attributed the departure of experienced academic staff, including professors and senior lecturers, to poor working conditions, noting that losing such personnel would take the university years to recover.
“When you lose professors and experienced hands, you lose institutional memory, research capacity, and quality of teaching. It is a crisis that will affect generations of students,” he added.
The union said its Congress, held on August 12, 2026, resolved to declare an industrial dispute and go on strike, following the decision of the ASUU National Executive Council, which met at the University of Abuja on August 8 and 9, 2026.
The two-week deadline, he explained, was issued in accordance with established procedures for industrial disputes, giving authorities time to take concrete actions.
Beyond the FGN-ASUU Agreement, ASUU-KASU also listed several unresolved local issues, including university autonomy, excessive workload, promotion arrears, death benefits, group life insurance coverage, the 25 and 35 percent wage awards, and pension remittances.
The union urged university management and the government to address these issues urgently and provide satisfactory responses to prevent industrial unrest and maintain peace at the institution.
“We appeal to parents, stakeholders, and well-meaning Nigerians to intervene to help prevent the looming strike. We remain committed to pursuing our demands,” Abdullahi declared.
The union ended its statement with its rallying cry: “Aluta Continua, Victoria Ascerta.”