Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, has approved the implementation of the 2025 Federal Government-Academic Staff Union of Universities (FGN-ASUU) salary agreement for academic staff of Kaduna State University (KASU), effective from October 2026.
The approval comes amid a renewed industrial dispute between the Kaduna State Government and the KASU chapter of ASUU, which has escalated from a warning strike to an indefinite strike over unresolved demands.
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The Commissioner of Education, Prof Abubakar Sambo, announced the government’s decision at a press briefing in Kaduna on Friday.
He said the approval followed the report and recommendations of a nine-member Government-KASU/ASUU Negotiation Committee constituted by Mr Sani to review the union’s demands and recommend a “fair and sustainable framework” for their implementation.
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According to Mr Sambo, the approved package gives effect to provisions of the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement, including the revised Consolidated University Academic Salary Structure (CONUASS), Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance (CATA) and other applicable salary adjustments and allowances.
Approval follows weeks of KASU-ASUU dispute
The development follows weeks of tension at KASU over the implementation of the 2025 agreement and other conditions of service.
ASUU-KASU had in August issued a two-week ultimatum to the government and university authorities, threatening an indefinite strike if its demands were not addressed.
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The union later commenced a two week warning strike after the ultimatum expired, maintaining that the government’s intervention had not addressed all its grievances.
Among the issues raised by the union were implementation of the 25 and 35 per cent wage adjustments, university autonomy, promotion arrears, pension remittances, death benefits and group life insurance, as well as other local welfare concerns.
The dispute also generated concern over the alleged departure of experienced academic staff from the university.
ASUU-KASU claimed that more than 200 professors and other academic staff had left KASU, attributing the development to poor conditions of service and delays in implementing the 2025 agreement.
The university management and Kaduna State Government disputed the scale of the alleged exodus. The government said its records showed that 59 academic staff had left the university between January 2024 and August 2026, including 17 professors and associate professors.
Government approves N300m earned allowance
Before the latest salary approval, Mr Sani had approved a one-off payment of ₦300 million as Earned Academic Allowance (EAA) for KASU academic staff.
The payment was announced alongside the constitution of the nine-member negotiation committee headed by Secretary to the State Government, Dr AbdulKadir Mu’azu Meyere.
The government said the payment was part of efforts to address a backlog of more than ₦800 million in accumulated entitlements and allowances dating back to 2016.
The intervention, however, did not immediately resolve the dispute, as ASUU-KASU maintained that the EAA payment was only one of several issues requiring attention.
KASU management subsequently appealed to the union to suspend its warning strike and allow negotiations with the government to continue.
Government lists interventions in education
Mr Sambo said the latest approval was consistent with Mr Sani’s commitment to education and human-capital development.
He said at least 25 per cent of the Kaduna State annual budget had been allocated to education since the governor assumed office.
According to him, the administration has built and renovated 3,267 classrooms, provided 1,194 toilets and 90 boreholes, and supplied 57,777 pieces of furniture for learners and teachers.
He added that the government had approved a 50 per cent reduction in tertiary education fees and extended the retirement age of school teachers from 60 to 65 years.
Prof Sambo urged ASUU, the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) to reciprocate the government’s interventions by embracing dialogue.
“A government that listens and responds to legitimate concerns deserves a university community equally committed to constructive engagement, industrial harmony and the public interest,” he said.
He also challenged KASU to translate improved staff welfare into better teaching, research, innovation and student outcomes.
According to him, the university should pursue deliberate reforms to improve its performance and visibility in international rankings, including the Times Higher Education rankings.
KASU says government cleared inherited salary obligations
The Vice Chancellor of KASU, Prof Abdullahi Ibrahim-Musa, said the Sani administration had taken significant steps to address longstanding staff welfare issues at the university.
He said the government had released more than ₦800 million in withheld salaries over the last three years, as well as ₦146 million for outstanding SIWES and other allowances inherited from previous administrations.
“ KASU has consequently cleared these inherited withheld salary obligations, demonstrating Government’s resolve to address longstanding staff welfare issues,” he said.
Mr Musa said the government had also released more than ₦200 million in overhead funding to KASU in 2026 alone.
He said the funds were used to support laboratory chemicals and reagents, students’ field trips, examinations and other essential academic activities.
He added that the government had invested more than ₦300 million in the accreditation of over 57 academic programmes and resource-verification exercises for 60 postgraduate programmes by the National Universities Commission.
Council cites wider education reforms
The Chairman of the KASU Governing Council, Dr Ibrahim Umar, said education had remained a major focus of the Sani administration.
He said the government had also made progress in addressing the out-of-school children crisis in Kaduna State.
According to him, the administration inherited an estimated population of more than 500,000 out-of-school children in 2023 but had since returned more than 300,000 children to education.
Mr Umar also cited the transformation of the Kaduna State Schools Quality Assurance Authority into a more technology-driven and data-based institution as evidence of the administration’s broader education reforms.
The government urged all parties to regard the salary approval as an investment in human capital and an opportunity to restore industrial harmony at KASU.
It called on the university community and the unions to use the latest development to return to constructive engagement and work towards improving the institution’s academic standards and competitiveness.
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