KASU In Crisis As Over 200 Lecturers Resign – ASUU Gives Kaduna Govt 14-Day Ultimatum

• ASUU-KASU says more than 200 professors and other academic staff have left Kaduna State University over poor conditions of service and failure to implement the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement.

• The union gives the Kaduna State Government, Governing Council and university management a 14-day ultimatum to domesticate the agreement or face a total, comprehensive and indefinite strike.

• ASUU warns that KASU lecturers have become among the lowest-paid academics in Nigeria, while unresolved welfare issues continue to fuel the mass exodus.

• The union says the continued loss of experienced lecturers threatens teaching, research and the university’s long-term academic competitiveness if urgent action is not taken.

August 17, () — Kaduna State University (KASU) is facing what lecturers have described as an alarming brain drain after the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), KASU chapter, disclosed that more than 200 professors and other academic staff have resigned from the institution over poor conditions of service and the continued failure to implement the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU (FGN-ASUU) Agreement.

The union warned that unless the Kaduna State Government and the university authorities urgently reverse the situation, the institution could be plunged into an indefinite industrial crisis.

Speaking at a press conference held on Monday at the union’s secretariat in Kaduna, ASUU-KASU Chairman, Dr Abubakar Abdullahi, announced a two-week ultimatum to the university management, Governing Council and other relevant stakeholders to fully domesticate and implement the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement.

He warned that failure to act within the notice period would compel the union to embark on a total, comprehensive and indefinite strike.

According to Abdullahi, the agreement, which provides improved salaries and conditions of service for lecturers in Nigerian universities, became effective in January 2026, but eight months later, Kaduna State University had yet to commence implementation.

He disclosed that the union had written several letters to the university management, Governing Council and the Visitor to the university, Governor Uba Sani, urging them to domesticate the agreement in line with the institution’s enabling law.

The ASUU chairman added that the union had equally engaged critical stakeholders within and outside Kaduna State in a bid to preserve industrial harmony and prevent a breakdown of academic activities.

Abdullahi said the continued refusal to implement the agreement has triggered a steady exodus of experienced lecturers, revealing that more than 200 professors and other academics have left the university in search of better remuneration and improved working conditions elsewhere.

He described the development as a serious threat to the future of the institution, warning that replacing highly experienced professors and lecturers would take years and could significantly weaken teaching quality, research output and postgraduate supervision.

According to him, KASU lecturers have now become among the least-paid academic staff in Nigeria’s public university system despite the institution’s previous reputation for maintaining competitive staff welfare.

He further warned that continued delay in implementing the agreement would only increase the salary arrears accumulating from January 2026, making the financial burden even heavier.

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Strike Threat Looms

The ASUU-KASU chairman disclosed that the union’s Congress, during its meeting of August 12, 2026, resolved to declare an industrial dispute and proceed with a total, comprehensive and indefinite strike should authorities fail to act after the expiration of the 14-day ultimatum.

He explained that the decision was consistent with the directive of ASUU’s National Executive Council (NEC), which met at the University of Abuja on August 8 and 9, 2026, and authorised branches experiencing non-implementation of the 2025 agreement to commence industrial action after complying with statutory procedures.

The ultimatum, he said, was issued in accordance with the Trade Disputes Act and other established industrial relations procedures, giving the university authorities adequate opportunity to address the grievances.

Beyond the implementation of the national agreement, ASUU-KASU said several local issues remain unresolved.

These include university autonomy, excessive workload, promotion arrears, unpaid death benefits, group life insurance, implementation of the 25 and 35 per cent wage awards, pension remittances and other welfare obligations owed to academic staff.

The union urged the Kaduna State Government, university management and Governing Council to urgently resolve the outstanding issues in order to avert industrial disharmony and restore confidence among academic staff.

It also appealed to parents, students, alumni, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to intervene before another prolonged disruption of academic activities occurs.

Background

Kaduna State University is among several public universities facing mounting pressure from ASUU over the implementation of the December 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement, which introduced improved salary structures, welfare packages and other conditions of service for lecturers across Nigeria’s public universities.

While many federal universities and a number of state-owned institutions have commenced implementation or announced timelines for compliance, ASUU says some state governments have failed to domesticate the agreement, leaving lecturers frustrated and accelerating the migration of experienced academics to better-paying institutions within and outside Nigeria.

The national union recently warned that persistent delays in implementing the agreement could trigger fresh industrial actions across affected universities if governments fail to honour their commitments.