KASU Strike: Uba Sani approves new salary package

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Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State

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By Ibrahim Hassan-Wuyo

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KADUNA: 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 October 2026.

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The Commissioner of Education, Prof. Abubakar Sani Sambo, disclosed this on Friday at a press briefing in Kaduna, saying the approval followed the report and recommendations of the nine-member Government-KASU/ASUU Negotiation Committee constituted by the governor to consider the union’s demands and develop a sustainable framework for implementation.

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Sambo said the approved package would give 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.

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The development came amid the ongoing industrial dispute between the KASU branch of ASUU and the Kaduna State Government.

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The union had earlier embarked on a two-week warning strike, following which the state government constituted the negotiation committee headed by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Abdulkadir Mu’azu Meyere.

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The government also approved a one-off payment of N300 million as Earned Academic Allowance (EAA) to begin addressing a backlog of more than N800 million in accumulated entitlements and allowances dating back to 2016.

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Despite the measures announced by the government and the ongoing negotiations, the KASU branch of ASUU commenced an indefinite strike on Wednesday.

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However, Sambo appealed to the union and other university-based unions, including the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) and National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), to reciprocate the government’s interventions by embracing dialogue to resolve the dispute.

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He said the decision to implement the 2025 FGN-ASUU agreement was consistent with the Sani administration’s commitment to education and human capital development.

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According to him, at least 25 per cent of the state’s annual budget has been allocated to education since the administration assumed office, while 3,267 classrooms, 1,194 toilets and 90 boreholes have been built or renovated.

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He added that 57,777 learners’ and teachers’ furniture had also been supplied, while 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.

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Sambo said: “A government that listens and responds to legitimate concerns deserves a university community equally committed to constructive engagement, industrial harmony and the public interest.”

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He urged KASU staff to translate improved welfare into better teaching, research, innovation and student outcomes, while improving the university’s visibility and competitiveness in global rankings, including the Times Higher Education rankings.

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Also speaking, the Vice Chancellor of KASU, Prof. Abdullahi Ibrahim Musa, said the Sani administration had taken steps to improve the welfare of academic and non-academic staff of the institution.

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Musa said the government had released more than N800 million in withheld salaries over the last three years, in addition to N146 million for outstanding Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) allowances and other inherited obligations.

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He said the interventions had enabled the university to clear inherited withheld salary obligations, adding that the state government had also disbursed more than N200 million in overhead funding to KASU in 2026 alone.

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According to him, the funds had supported essential activities, including the procurement of laboratory chemicals and reagents, students’ field trips, examinations and other academic operations.

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Musa further disclosed that the government had invested more than N300 million in the accreditation of over 57 academic programmes and resource-verification exercises for 60 postgraduate programmes by the National Universities Commission (NUC).

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The Chairman of the KASU Governing Council, Dr Ibrahim Umar, said the administration had also made progress in tackling the out-of-school children crisis in the state.

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He said that from an estimated population of more than 500,000 out-of-school children inherited in 2023, over 300,000 had since been returned to the education system.

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Umar said the development reflected the administration’s commitment to ensuring access to education for Kaduna children, while its institutional reforms had also transformed the Kaduna State Schools Quality Assurance Authority (KSSQAA) into a more technology-driven and data-based institution.

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The state government consequently urged all parties to embrace the latest approval as an investment in human capital, a vote of confidence in KASU and an opportunity to restore industrial harmony in the university.

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