More than 200 KASU lecturers, including senior professors, have left Kaduna State University. The union blames poor conditions of service. It also blames the non-implementation of the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU Agreement.
The chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities at KASU, Abubakar Abdullahi, disclosed this on Monday. He spoke at a press conference held at the union’s secretariat in Kaduna.
Abdullahi said most of the KASU lecturers who resigned had secured new appointments. Many moved to newer universities within Kaduna State. Others left for institutions outside the state entirely. He linked the departures to poor remuneration and a steady decline in staff welfare.
The union has now given university authorities and the Kaduna State Government a two-week ultimatum. They must fully implement and domesticate the 2025 agreement within that period. Failure to comply could trigger a total and indefinite strike, the union warned.
According to Vanguard, which first reported the resignation figures, the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU Agreement took effect in January 2026. It was designed to improve conditions of service for academic staff across Nigerian universities. Abdullahi noted that implementation at KASU had yet to commence. Many federal universities had already begun paying arrears. Several state-owned institutions had improved allowances too.
He said the union had written several letters over the matter. These went to the university management, the Governing Council and the Visitor to the university, Governor Uba Sani. The letters urged them to domesticate the agreement in line with the law establishing the institution.
The exodus of KASU lecturers is not new. ASUU warned earlier this year that many KASU lecturers could barely afford fuel for their vehicles. Many blamed excessive administrative bottlenecks for worsening an already difficult working environment. Layered approval processes have also slowed urgent academic decisions.
Kaduna State University sits within the Kano zone of ASUU. The zone includes Bayero University Kano and Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. According to Leadership, other institutions in the zone have similarly failed to domesticate the 2025 agreement. The ASUU-KASU congress resolved on 12 August to declare an industrial dispute. That decision aligned with a broader national resolution reached in Abuja earlier that month.
Beyond the national agreement, ASUU-KASU listed several unresolved local grievances. These include university autonomy and excessive workload. They also include unpaid promotion arrears and death benefits. Group life insurance coverage, wage awards and outstanding pension remittances feature too. Many KASU lecturers say these unresolved issues predate the current dispute.
The union insists it wants dialogue rather than confrontation. Abdullahi said ASUU-KASU had engaged stakeholders within and outside Kaduna State. The goal, he said, is to preserve peace and industrial harmony at the university.
Whether the state government responds within the two-week window remains to be seen. For now, the exit of KASU lecturers signals a deepening crisis. It is a crisis facing a public university once regarded as among the strongest in northern Nigeria.
