By Abdullahi Jalalludeen
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Kano Zone, has expressed deep concern over the Federal Government’s persistent failure to address lingering issues affecting Nigerian public universities, warning that industrial harmony in the nation’s tertiary institutions can no longer be guaranteed.
The union made its position known at a press conference held in Kano.
During the briefing ,the Union reviewed the state of university education in the country and the protracted renegotiation of the 2009 ASUU/FG agreement.
Speaking on behalf of the zone, Comrade Abdulkadir Muhammad, the Zonal Coordinator, listed several unresolved issues in ASUU’s engagements with the Federal Government.
Hensais the issues include the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement, sustainable funding for public universities, victimization of members in some universities, non-payment of 25/35% salary arrears, non-payment of promotion arrears for over four years, and refusal to remit third-party deductions.
On the 2009 agreement, ASUU noted that the Federal Government had in 2024 set up a committee led by Alhaji Yayale Ahmed to renegotiate the pact. The committee reportedly completed its work in December 2024 and submitted its report in February 2025. However, the union lamented that the government has yet to act on the report.
“The refusal of successive governments to renegotiate the 2009 ASUU/FGN Agreement has kept academics in public universities on the same salary scale for 16 years. This has deepened discontent, worsened the japa syndrome, and demoralized Nigerian lecturers,” .
The union further decried the plight of retired professors, accusing the government of refusing to implement the University Miscellaneous Provisions (Amendment) Act 2012, which mandates that professors retire with their full salaries for life.
It also dismissed the recently introduced Tertiary Institutions Staff Support Fund (TISSF), describing it as a “charade” designed to turn ASUU into a guarantor for government loans. The union instead demanded payment of withheld salaries, arrears of promotions, and improved conditions of service.
ASUU also condemned the unchecked proliferation of universities in the country, warning that the establishment of institutions without proper funding was eroding the quality of education.
The zonal coordinator noted that Nigeria currently has 339 universities—72 federal, 108 state, and 159 private—despite allocating only 7% of the national budget to education.
While acknowledging the recent declaration of a seven-year moratorium on the establishment of public universities by the Minister of Education, the union faulted the government’s approval of nine new private universities, describing it as contradictory.
It also expressed concern over the worsening insecurity, rising poverty, and widening inequality in the country, urging governments at all levels to take seriously their constitutional duty of protecting lives and property.
Comrade Abdulkadir Muhammad reaffirmed ASUU’s commitment to collective bargaining, stressing that only sincere engagement with the government would avert another round of strike actions.
The Kano Zone of ASUU comprises seven universities, including Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, Bayero University Kano (BUK), Kaduna State University (KASU), Kano University of Science and Technology (KUST) Wudil, Federal University Dutse (FUD), Northwest University Kano (NWU), and Sule Lamido University Kafin Hausa (SLUK), Jigawa.
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