By Ibrahim Hassan-Wuyo
The management of Kaduna State University (KASU) has dismissed claims by the university’s chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) that more than 200 academic staff have resigned from the institution due to poor conditions of service.
The university described the claim as misleading and said it did not reflect the realities at the institution.
The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Abdullahi Ibrahim Musa, stated this on Tuesday while reacting to a recent press conference by ASUU-KASU, during which the union issued a two-week ultimatum to the Kaduna State Government over the implementation of the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU agreement and other welfare concerns.
Musa said staff movement between universities was a global phenomenon and should not automatically be attributed to poor working conditions.
According to him, “staff mobility is common across universities,” adding that the union should present the facts objectively and avoid creating unnecessary alarm.
He said the university’s recent achievements in research, accreditation and international collaborations were evidence of a thriving academic environment capable of attracting and retaining distinguished scholars.
The Vice-Chancellor cited three KASU researchers — Prof. Ibrahim Inuwa Yahaya of the Department of Chemistry, Dr Daniel Yahaya Shagaiya of Mathematics and Dr Abdullahi Yusuf Zuntu of Physics — who, he said, are ranked among the world’s top two per cent of scientists.
Musa also disclosed that the Kaduna State Government had invested more than N290 million in resource verification and accreditation for over 90 academic programmes at the university.
He said KASU had attracted more than £945,000 in research funding over the past three years, describing the development as a reflection of the commitment of its academic staff.
The Vice-Chancellor further listed several international partnerships established by the university since 2023, including collaborations with Benha University and the Institut Sains dan Unjuk Kerja (ISUJ), Jakarta, as well as a partnership with the Makkah International Centre for Qur’anic Guidance on Qur’anic Studies.
He added that KASU had established the China-Nigeria Belt and Road Initiative Joint Laboratory in collaboration with Zhejiang University and the Longquan Industrial Innovation Research Institute through the COCESS Faculty.
Musa said the university also secured a N1 billion competitive research grant from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) for commercial agriculture research and development.
On student welfare, he highlighted government interventions, including scholarships worth more than N1 billion and a 50 per cent reduction in tuition fees.
He said Governor Uba Sani had also directed that students unable to pay their fees be allowed to sit for examinations, describing the measure as part of efforts to widen access to higher education.
The Vice-Chancellor further said the state government had cleared inherited salary arrears dating back to May 2022 owed to all categories of university staff, paid SIWES allowances and maintained regular payment of monthly salaries.
Musa, however, reaffirmed the management’s commitment to staff welfare and urged ASUU-KASU to reconsider its position and return to the negotiating table.
“The university management remains committed to constructive engagement and sustained dialogue with the union in the interest of staff, students, and the continued growth and stability of Kaduna State University,” he said.
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