KASU VC faults ASUU over claim that 200 lecturers resigned

The Vice Chancellor of Kaduna State University (KASU), Prof. Abdullahi Ibrahim Musa, has dismissed claims by the university’s chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) that about 200 lecturers have resigned from the institution over poor working conditions.

Musa described the figure as misleading and unsupported by the university’s records, urging the public to disregard the claim.

The Vice Chancellor, in a statement issued on Tuesday, said staff movements within the university system, including resignations, retirements, transfers and pursuit of other professional opportunities, were normal and should not automatically be interpreted as evidence of poor working conditions.

He challenged the union to provide the identities of the lecturers it claimed had resigned, their dates of resignation and reasons for leaving the university.

“Public discourse concerning an institution as important as KASU must be guided by facts and verifiable records, not sweeping assertions capable of creating unnecessary anxiety among students, parents and the university community,” he said.

Musa said the Kaduna State Government, under Gov. Uba Sani, had taken several measures to improve the welfare of academic and non-academic staff and address inherited financial obligations.

He said more than N800 million had been released for staff welfare in the last three years, while N146 million was used to clear withheld salaries and outstanding Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) allowances inherited from previous administrations.

According to him, the university, government and ASUU-KASU have also established a N50 million monthly standing intervention to support the institution.

He added that the state government had released more than N200 million in overhead funding to KASU in 2026 to support its day-to-day operations, including the purchase of laboratory chemicals and reagents, students’ field trips and examinations.

Musa also highlighted investments in academic accreditation, saying the state government had committed more than N300 million to the accreditation of over 57 academic programmes and resource verification for 60 postgraduate programmes by the National Universities Commission (NUC).

He said the university had secured full accreditation for seven professional programmes from relevant regulatory bodies, including Nursing and Midwifery and Physiotherapy, as well as full accreditation for its newly established Digital Learning Centre.

The VC said KASU had also expanded its research and academic capacity through the establishment of 14 research centres and two specialised institutes, including the Digital Learning Institute.

He said the university had introduced professional development programmes, including long-vacation training for teachers and other professionals, while its researchers had attracted seven international research grants within the last three years.

Musa further disclosed that the university had secured a N1 billion competitive TETFund grant for commercial agriculture.

On students’ welfare, he said the reduction of tuition fees across Kaduna State-owned tertiary institutions, including KASU, had helped to reduce the financial burden on students and their families.

He added that the state government had paid more than N1.6 billion in local and foreign scholarships to support indigent Kaduna students studying in Nigeria and abroad.

According to him, KASU has also strengthened academic and research partnerships with institutions and organisations in Russia, Egypt, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, China and other countries.

The Vice Chancellor acknowledged that some staff welfare issues remained unresolved but said management was committed to addressing them progressively.

He therefore appealed to ASUU-KASU to avoid actions that could disrupt the academic calendar and impose additional hardship on students and their parents.

Musa said the management remained open to dialogue and urged the union to use established channels of engagement to resolve outstanding issues.

He also cautioned the union against allowing genuine labour concerns to be exploited for partisan political purposes.

“The welfare of lecturers, stability of the university and, above all, the education and future of students must remain paramount,” he said.

The VC maintained that constructive engagement remained the best approach to resolving the issues between the university management and the union, adding that industrial action should only be considered as a last resort where dialogue had failed.

Angel360 reports that the latest development comes amid concerns over staff welfare and working conditions in Nigerian public universities, where disputes over salaries, allowances, funding, infrastructure and other conditions of service have frequently led to tensions between university managements and academic unions.

ASUU has over the years raised concerns about funding and the welfare of university lecturers, while university authorities and state governments have often highlighted interventions made to improve academic infrastructure and staff welfare.

The disagreement at KASU has therefore brought renewed attention to the need for both the university management and ASUU to rely on verifiable records and sustained dialogue in resolving their differences, particularly to prevent disputes from affecting students’ academic programmes.