Kaduna State University (KASU) was thrown into confusion on Thursday following conflicting reports about the status of the ongoing strike by its branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
The university’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Abdullahi Ibrahim Musa, held a press conference where he announced that ASUU-KASU had suspended its strike, and that academic activities would resume immediately.
He attributed the decision to suspend the strike to the intervention of Governor Uba Sani, who approved the payment of N50 million for staff welfare, along with the release of N146 million for the payment of withheld salaries and allowances related to the Student Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES).
Professor Musa praised the intervention as “an unprecedented act of courage”;; and commended the governor for his “remarkable concern for the plight of students, the state of education, and the welfare of both academic and non-academic staff.”;;
He also revealed that a reconciliation committee had been established under the leadership of the Deputy Governor, Dr. Hadiza Balarabe, to engage all university unions in dialogue to resolve lingering issues within the institution.
However, shortly afterward, ASUU-KASU strongly refuted the Vice-Chancellor’s statement, describing it as an unauthorized and unwarranted interference.
In a statement signed by the Acting Chairman of the union, Comrade Abubakar Abdullahi, and the Secretary, Comrade Peter M. Waziri, the union urged the public to disregard the claims made by the university management.
The union stated that, “The university management is not the body that declared the strike, and therefore, it has no authority to suspend it.”;;
