Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate, Isa Ashiru, have traded accusations over the industrial dispute at the Kaduna State University (KASU), where the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has threatened an indefinite strike.
ASUU-KASU had warned of a strike over outstanding welfare and institutional issues.
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PREMIUM TIMES reported on Tuesday that the union said more than 200 professors and other academic staffers had left KASU over poor conditions of service and the failure to implement the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU agreement.
The union issued a two-week ultimatum for implementation and domestication of the agreement.
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Its demands include payment of outstanding academic allowances, promotion arrears, death benefits, and implementation of group life insurance, 25 and 35 per cent wage awards, pension remittances and university autonomy.
VC disputes ASUU’s claims
KASU’s vice-chancellor, Abdullahi Musa, however, rejected the claim that more than 200 lecturers had resigned from the university.
In a statement on Tuesday, Mr Musa said the figure was “barely 50,” adding that the administration of Governor Uba Sani had taken several measures to improve the welfare of academic and non-academic staff.
He also said the university had continued to receive government support despite the financial challenges confronting the institution.
Ashiru attacks Uba Sani’s education record
Reacting to the development, Mr Ashiru accused the state government of neglecting education and failing to make the sector a priority.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by his spokesperson, Abdulwaheed Olayinka-Adubi, the ADC candidate accused the government of having a “lukewarm attitude” towards education.
Mr Ashiru said the reported departure of about 200 professors and other academic staff from KASU was evidence of the government’s failure to address deteriorating working conditions.
He also criticised the government for failing to implement the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU agreement, despite the two-week ultimatum issued by ASUU-KASU.
According to him, the state government should immediately address the union’s demands to prevent what he described as an unnecessary collapse of the university’s academic system.
“These are serious issues that should be accorded utmost priority,” Ashiru said.
Kaduna Government: Ashiru needs ‘a lesson’ in education funding
The state government, on Wednesday hit back, accusing Mr Ashiru of getting basic facts about education funding wrong.
The Commissioner for Information and Culture, Ahmed Maiyaki, said the ADC candidate was entitled to criticise the government but should base his arguments on verifiable facts.
“Ashiru is entitled to criticise the government. But when an aspirant to the highest office in the state gets basic facts about education funding wrong, a little lesson becomes necessary,” Mr Maiyaki said.
The commissioner faulted Mr Ashiru’s claim that UNESCO recommends that governments allocate 15 to 20 per cent of their budgets to education.
He said the Education 2030 Framework for Action recommends at least four to six per cent of GDP or 15 to 20 per cent of total public expenditure for education.
Government cites N246.5bn 2026 education allocation
Mr Maiyaki said Kaduna allocated 25 per cent of its total budget to education in 2024, 26.14 per cent in 2025 and another 25 per cent of its N985.9 billion 2026 budget to the sector.
That amounts to approximately N246.5 billion in 2026, he said.
“For three consecutive years, therefore, Governor Uba Sani has committed about one-quarter of Kaduna State’s annual budget to education,” the commissioner said.
The government also claimed that Kaduna had reduced its out-of-school population from more than 550,000 to 187,719 within three years through enrolment campaigns, infrastructure development and other interventions.
Government lists KASU interventions
On KASU, Mr Maiyaki said the Uba Sani administration had provided more than N800 million for staff welfare, about N146 million for withheld salaries and SIWES-related obligations, and a N50 million monthly standing intervention.
He said the government also provided more than N200 million in overhead support to the university in 2026 and over N300 million for the accreditation of 57 academic programmes and resource verification for 60 postgraduate programmes.
According to the commissioner, the interventions contributed to the full accreditation of seven professional programmes and the establishment of KASU’s Digital Learning Centre.
“These are hardly the actions of a government that is ‘lukewarm’ towards education,” Mr Maiyaki said.
Government challenges 200-lecturer claim
The commissioner also challenged ASUU’s claim that more than 200 professors and other academic staff had resigned from KASU over poor working conditions.
He urged those making the claim to provide the names of the alleged 200 academics, their dates of resignation and their stated reasons for leaving.
“Repetition does not turn an unverified allegation into fact,” he said.
The political dimension
The KASU dispute has now become an early flashpoint in the 2027 Kaduna governorship contest, with the opposition using the university’s challenges to question the Sani administration’s record on education, while the government is defending its spending and interventions in the sector.
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