The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Kaduna State University (KASU) chapter, has raised concerns over what it described as a growing exodus of experienced academics from the institution, warning that the situation could further weaken the university system.
The union said more than 200 professors and other academic staff have left the university, largely due to poor conditions of service and the failure of the institution to implement and domesticate the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU Agreement.
ASUU-KASU has now given the university authorities a two-week ultimatum to take concrete steps towards implementing the agreement, warning that failure to act could trigger a total, comprehensive and indefinite strike.
The Chairman of ASUU-KASU, Comrade Abubakar Abdullahi, issued the warning on Monday during a press conference at the union’s secretariat within the Kaduna State University campus.
Abdullahi explained that the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement, which introduced new conditions of service for academic staff in Nigerian universities, took effect in January 2026. However, he said KASU was yet to begin its implementation more than eight months after the agreement was signed.
According to him, the union had written several letters to the university management, the Governing Council and the Visitor to the university, Governor Uba Sani, calling for the agreement to be domesticated and implemented in line with the law establishing the institution.
He said ASUU had also engaged relevant stakeholders within and outside Kaduna State in an effort to resolve the matter and preserve industrial peace at the university.
Abdullahi noted that while several federal and state-owned universities had either implemented the agreement or announced timelines for its implementation and payment of accrued arrears, KASU had yet to take similar action.
He warned that the delay had taken a serious toll on staff welfare and was contributing to the departure of some of the university’s most experienced academics.
“KASU used to be one of the universities with good conditions of service. That was why we attracted some of the best academic hands,” Abdullahi said.
“But today, the reverse is the case. At the rate we are losing more than 200 professors and other academics, it is frightening. No system survives with this kind of mass exodus.”
The ASUU-KASU chairman warned that replacing such experienced academics would not be easy, stressing that the university could take years to recover from the loss of its seasoned professors and other lecturers.
He further disclosed that the union’s congress, during its meeting on August 12, resolved to declare an industrial dispute and proceed towards a total, comprehensive and indefinite strike.
The decision, he said, followed a resolution of ASUU’s National Executive Council, which met at the University of Abuja on August 8 and 9.
Abdullahi explained that the two-week ultimatum was issued in line with established procedures for declaring an industrial dispute and was intended to give the university authorities sufficient time to demonstrate commitment towards resolving the issues.
Beyond the implementation of the 2025 agreement, the union listed several unresolved local concerns, including university autonomy, excessive workload, promotion arrears, death benefits, group life insurance coverage, outstanding 25 and 35 per cent wage awards and pension remittances.
ASUU-KASU warned that unless urgent steps are taken to address the issues, the institution could be heading towards another major disruption of academic activities.
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