Kaduna State University is facing growing pressure over the departure of more than 200 academic staff, including professors, amid concerns over working conditions and the reported non-implementation of the 2025 Federal Government–Academic Staff Union of Universities agreement.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities, KASU chapter, disclosed the development on Monday and warned that the university could be heading towards a total and indefinite strike if its demands are not addressed within two weeks.
The Chairman of ASUU-KASU, Dr Abubakar Abdullahi, said the reported exit of the lecturers had become a major concern for the university community, particularly at a time when higher institutions are expected to retain experienced academics to strengthen teaching, research, postgraduate supervision and academic administration.
Abdullahi attributed the development largely to what the union described as poor conditions of service and the failure to implement and domesticate the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement at KASU.
According to him, although the agreement took effect in January 2026, its implementation had yet to commence at the institution. He said the union had repeatedly engaged the university management, Governing Council and the Visitor to the university, the Kaduna State Governor, over the matter.
The ASUU-KASU chairman said the union had formally written to the relevant authorities and urged them to take concrete steps towards domesticating and implementing the agreement in line with the law establishing the university.
The situation has raised fresh concerns about the ability of KASU to retain experienced academics and maintain uninterrupted academic activities. The loss of more than 200 lecturers could have implications for lecture delivery, student supervision, research output, examination administration and the overall workload of remaining academic staff.
For students, the consequences could extend beyond the immediate dispute if the situation escalates into industrial action. A prolonged strike could disrupt lectures and examinations, affect the academic calendar and potentially delay graduation and other academic processes.
ASUU-KASU has therefore issued a two-week ultimatum to the university authorities, warning that failure to take satisfactory steps towards resolving the outstanding issues could result in a total and indefinite strike.
The development is also part of a broader dispute between ASUU and several state-owned universities over the implementation of the 2025 FGN-ASUU agreement. In July, ASUU chapters in different parts of the country raised concerns over outstanding welfare obligations, salaries, allowances and other provisions contained in the agreement.
The KASU situation, however, adds another dimension to the debate because of the reported scale of academic staff departures. The loss of professors and other experienced lecturers can affect not only classroom teaching but also institutional research capacity, accreditation requirements, mentoring of younger academics and the supervision of postgraduate students.
Universities depend heavily on experienced academic staff to sustain programmes and meet regulatory requirements. Continued staff departures could therefore create additional pressure on institutions already dealing with funding, infrastructure and workforce challenges.
The union’s position is that improving lecturers’ conditions of service and implementing negotiated agreements are essential to retaining academic talent and maintaining stability within the university system.
With the two-week ultimatum now in place, attention will turn to KASU management and the Kaduna State Government to determine whether the outstanding issues can be resolved before ASUU proceeds with the threatened industrial action.
For the students and wider university community, the immediate priority remains preventing another disruption to academic activities while addressing the conditions that have contributed to the reported exodus of lecturers.
The unfolding situation has once again brought the issue of academic staff retention to the centre of Nigeria’s higher education debate, with ASUU insisting that universities cannot effectively deliver quality education when lecturers continue to leave because of unresolved welfare and employment concerns.
