KASU Lecturer Exodus Deepens as ASUU Warns of Fresh Indefinite Strike Over Unimplemented 2025 Agreement!
The worsening industrial dispute at Kaduna State University (KASU) has entered a new phase, with concerns over staff welfare, unresolved entitlements and the non-implementation of the 2025 Federal Government–Academic Staff Union of Universities (FGN-ASUU) agreement raising fresh fears of another disruption to academic activities.
Reports circulating about the institution claim that more than 200 lecturers have resigned from KASU amid deteriorating working conditions, while the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has warned that continued failure to address outstanding demands could trigger another indefinite strike.
However, wengglobal could not independently verify the specific figure of more than 200 lecturers who have resigned through publicly available official records or reports from major national media organisations as of publication. The claim should therefore be treated as an allegation requiring confirmation from KASU management, the university’s governing council or the KASU-ASUU leadership.
What is independently established is that KASU has experienced repeated disputes between its academic staff union and the Kaduna State Government over unpaid entitlements, university autonomy, salary arrears and other welfare-related matters.
The latest development comes against the backdrop of ASUU’s broader campaign for state-owned universities to domesticate and implement the 2025 FGN-ASUU agreement.
ASUU raises fresh alarm over Kaduna, Kano and Jigawa universities
In July 2026, the ASUU Kano Zone warned the governments of Kaduna, Kano and Jigawa states that continued failure to implement the 2025 agreement in their state-owned universities could lead to industrial action.
The Nation reported that the union’s Kano Zone said none of the state-owned universities within the zone had domesticated or implemented the agreement, despite the participation of the affected states in negotiations that produced the agreement. Kaduna State University is among the institutions covered by the zone. (The Nation)
According to the union, federal universities had begun receiving funds to address some components of the agreement, including the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance, Professorial Secretariat Administrative Allowance and Earned Academic Allowance.
ASUU expressed concern that state-owned institutions in the zone were being left behind.
The union consequently urged the governments of Kaduna, Kano and Jigawa to implement the agreement, settle outstanding entitlements and resolve lingering disputes affecting academic staff.
The union also warned that continued inaction could undermine industrial harmony and disrupt academic activities.
Trust Radio similarly reported that ASUU Kano Zone warned that failure to implement the agreement could trigger fresh disruption in academic activities across the affected states. (Trust Radio)
KASU has a history of unresolved welfare disputes
The current concerns cannot be separated from KASU’s history of industrial disputes.
In February 2025, the KASU branch of ASUU declared a total and indefinite strike over a range of unresolved welfare issues.
According to a report by the News Agency of Nigeria published by Pulse Nigeria, the union cited unpaid portions of salaries, including 60 per cent of September 2017 salaries and salaries withheld between May and September 2022. It also complained about outstanding Earned Academic Allowances, promotion arrears, Students’ Industrial Work Experience Scheme supervision allowances, pension remittances and other entitlements. (Pulse Nigeria)
Blueprint Newspapers reported similar grievances, noting that the union had raised concerns over unpaid salaries, earned academic allowances, SIWES allowances, pension deductions and promotion arrears. (Blueprint Newspapers Limited)
The Kaduna State Government, however, disputed aspects of ASUU’s position.
The Guardian reported that Kaduna State Commissioner for Education, Prof. Muhammad Bello, described the strike as sabotage and argued that many of the financial claims dated back to previous administrations. The government maintained that Governor Uba Sani’s administration had taken steps to address outstanding issues. (The Guardian Nigeria)
The dispute demonstrated the complexity of the KASU crisis, with the university’s academic staff demanding fulfilment of outstanding obligations while the government maintained that efforts were already underway to address inherited liabilities.
Strike resumed in April 2025
The disagreement did not end with the February 2025 industrial action.
PUNCH reported that the KASU branch of ASUU resumed an indefinite strike on April 24, 2025, after accusing the Kaduna State Government of failing to honour previous commitments.
Among the issues listed by the union were unpaid salaries from May to September 2022, outstanding Earned Academic Allowances dating back to 2016, promotion arrears and unpaid SIWES supervision allowances.
The union also cited unpaid entitlements to deceased members, pension deductions, the non-implementation of 25 per cent and 35 per cent wage awards and what it described as erosion of university autonomy. (Punch Newspapers)
The strike was later suspended following interventions by the state government.
Channels Television reported in May 2025 that the university announced the suspension of the industrial action after Governor Uba Sani approved a ₦50 million monthly standing order for staff welfare support. The government also released ₦146 million for the payment of some withheld salaries and SIWES allowances, while approving measures intended to improve the university’s financial autonomy. (Channels Television)
The development provided temporary relief, but subsequent reports indicate that several structural and financial issues remained unresolved.
Lecturers warn of worsening brain drain
The reported resignation of more than 200 lecturers, if eventually confirmed by official university records, would represent a major challenge for KASU.
Universities depend heavily on experienced academics not only for classroom teaching but also for research, postgraduate supervision, accreditation exercises, curriculum development and institutional administration.
A sustained departure of lecturers could therefore have implications beyond staff welfare. It could affect student-to-lecturer ratios, course delivery, research output and the ability of departments to satisfy accreditation requirements.
Concerns about lecturer attrition at KASU are not entirely new.
In a previous report, New Telegraph quoted sources who said some KASU lecturers had resigned or were considering leaving because of poor working conditions and dissatisfaction with the situation at the institution. The ASUU-KASU chairman at the time also acknowledged that some members had left while others were considering doing so. (New Telegraph)
The Guardian also reported in May 2026 that ASUU-KASU was warning of another possible strike over unresolved entitlements. A union representative, Dr Usman Sadiq, said several demands remained outstanding and warned that lecturers could return to industrial action if government commitments were not fulfilled. (The Guardian Nigeria)
The report also highlighted concerns about promotion arrears and university autonomy, while noting that some lecturers had already left and others were considering leaving.
These developments provide context for the current claims of a large-scale lecturer exodus, even though the specific figure of more than 200 resignations remains unverified by wengglobal.
Why the 2025 FGN-ASUU agreement matters
The 2025 FGN-ASUU agreement emerged from years of negotiations over the welfare of university lecturers, funding, research, remuneration and the broader condition of Nigeria’s public university system.
ASUU has maintained that the agreement should be implemented across both federal and state-owned universities where applicable.
The union’s Kano Zone has argued that state governments cannot selectively implement provisions of an agreement in which they participated.
The dispute is particularly important because state universities depend substantially on state governments for funding and policy direction, while academic staff are also organised under a national union whose negotiations with the Federal Government have historically influenced conditions across the university system.
This creates a complicated industrial-relations structure in which agreements reached at the national level may still require action by individual state governments before lecturers at state-owned institutions can fully benefit.
Students bear the greatest burden
Beyond the disagreement between ASUU and the Kaduna State Government, the continuing dispute carries serious consequences for students.
Repeated strikes interrupt academic calendars, postpone examinations, delay graduation and create uncertainty for students who may already be dealing with financial and social pressures.
Student leaders previously appealed to the Kaduna Government and ASUU to resolve the KASU dispute, stressing that students were the primary victims of prolonged industrial action. The Nation reported that student representatives called for dialogue to prevent further disruption to their education. (The Nation)
The situation also has broader implications for Kaduna State’s human-capital development objectives. A university facing prolonged industrial disputes and a potential loss of experienced academic staff may struggle to provide the stable learning environment required to produce skilled graduates.
Government and ASUU face renewed pressure
The immediate challenge is therefore to prevent another cycle of dispute, strike, negotiation and temporary settlement.
For the Kaduna State Government, resolving outstanding obligations would help restore confidence among academic staff and reduce the risk of further industrial action.
For ASUU, the challenge is to continue pressing legitimate demands while ensuring that industrial action does not unnecessarily deepen the disruption already affecting students and the institution.
A transparent verification of outstanding liabilities, a mutually agreed payment timetable and clear implementation mechanisms could provide a more sustainable pathway than repeated emergency interventions.
The reported claim that more than 200 lecturers have resigned should also be urgently clarified by KASU management and ASUU. A publicly available staff-strength and attrition report would help establish the actual scale of the alleged exodus and allow policymakers, students and the public to understand the university’s manpower situation.
For now, what is clear is that the KASU dispute remains unresolved at several levels.
ASUU has publicly warned that failure by Kaduna and other affected state governments to implement the 2025 agreement could lead to industrial action. Previous experience at KASU shows that unresolved welfare issues can quickly translate into strikes, while continuing uncertainty may contribute to staff dissatisfaction and possible attrition.
The priority, therefore, should be a credible and sustainable settlement that protects lecturers’ legitimate rights while safeguarding the academic future of thousands of KASU students.
As negotiations continue, wengglobal will monitor developments and update readers when KASU management, ASUU or the Kaduna State Government provides authoritative confirmation concerning the alleged resignation of more than 200 lecturers and any decision to commence fresh industrial action.
Sources
- The Nation — ASUU urges Kano, Kaduna, Jigawa to implement 2025 agreement
- PUNCH — Kaduna ASUU resumes indefinite strike over unpaid allowances, salary arrears
- The Guardian — Kaduna govt condemns ASUU-KASU strike
- Channels Television — Kaduna varsity lecturers suspend three-week strike
- The Guardian — KASU lecturers threaten strike action over entitlements
- Trust Radio — Unpaid entitlements: ASUU threatens disruption in Kano, Kaduna, Jigawa
- New Telegraph — ASUU warns Northwest governments over 2025 agreement
Editorial Verification Note: The broader ASUU-KASU dispute, unresolved entitlements and the union’s 2026 warning over implementation of the 2025 FGN-ASUU agreement are supported by multiple published reports. However, wengglobal could not independently verify the specific claim that more than 200 KASU lecturers have resigned. The figure is therefore presented as a reported claim rather than an established fact.
