The Kaduna State Government has constituted a nine-member committee to negotiate with staff unions at Kaduna State University (KASU) over outstanding welfare and working-condition demands.
The government also approved the immediate release of N300 million as Earned Academic Allowance (EAA) for academic staff of the university.
The move follows renewed tensions between the state government and the KASU chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), which recently issued a two-week ultimatum over the implementation of its demands.
The union, however, has said it prefers dialogue and remains willing to negotiate with the government.
In a statement on Monday, the Secretary to the Kaduna State Government, Dr Abdulkadir Meyere, said the committee would undertake a comprehensive review of the demands presented by ASUU, the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) and the National Association of Academic Technologists.
Meyere said the N300m EAA payment formed part of the administration’s efforts to address accumulated entitlements and improve staff welfare at KASU.
“The intervention demonstrates the administration’s commitment to staff welfare, industrial harmony and the stability of the university through constructive dialogue and sustainable solutions,” he said.
According to the SSG, the payment was part of the Governor Uba Sani administration’s efforts to clear more than N800m in accumulated entitlements and allowances dating back to 2016.
He added that the government had settled outstanding withheld salaries and released funds to clear arrears of allowances for supervisors under the Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme.
The administration, he said, had also established a N50m monthly standing order to facilitate the systematic payment of outstanding arrears and staff-related claims.
Meyere further disclosed that more than N300m had been spent on accreditation of academic programmes and resource verification exercises for postgraduate programmes.
Four-week deadline for committee
The committee is chaired by the Commissioner for Education, Prof Abubakar Sambo.
Its other members are the Commissioner for Business, Innovation and Technology, Mrs Patience Fakai; Commissioner for Youth, Mrs Gloria Ibrahim; Chairman of the Local Government Service Board, Prof Ladan Sharehu; Director-General of the Kaduna State Schools Quality Assurance Authority, Prof Usman Abubakar Zaria; KASU Vice-Chancellor, Prof Abdullahi Ibrahim Musa; and Pro-Chancellor, Dr Ibrahim Umar.
The Permanent Secretary, General Services, Office of the Secretary to the State Government, is also a member, while the Permanent Secretary, Establishments, Services and Training, will serve as secretary.
The panel has four weeks to complete its assignment and submit its recommendations to the government.
It is expected to examine the unions’ demands, including the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance, and compare KASU’s conditions of service with prevailing practices in other state-owned universities.
The committee will also assess the financial implications of implementing demands arising from the 2025 agreement between ASUU and the Federal Government.
The government said the panel would propose “practical, equitable and financially sustainable options” for resolving the outstanding issues.
Meyere urged the unions to embrace dialogue, negotiation and collective bargaining rather than industrial action that could disrupt the academic calendar and affect students and their families.
He assured the university community that the government’s channels of engagement remained open and reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening KASU, improving staff welfare and sustaining uninterrupted academic activities.
The latest intervention follows a recent dispute between the state government and ASUU-KASU over welfare and other institutional concerns.
The union had raised concerns over unpaid allowances and other conditions of service, while the government disputed claims that more than 200 academic staff had left the university because of poor working conditions.
The state government said its records showed that 59 academic staff, including professors and associate professors, left KASU between January 2024 and August 2026.
It also said more than N896m had been spent on staff welfare at the university.
ASUU-KASU Chairman, Dr Abubakar Abdullahi, had said the union was not interested in embarking on strike and preferred negotiation.
“Even if the government calls us now, we are ready to move. Anything that will bring peace to the system, stability, that is what we want,” Abdullahi said.
