The Kaduna State University chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities says it is ready for immediate negotiations with the Kaduna State Government to resolve the lingering issues threatening industrial harmony at the institution.

The Chairman of ASUU-KASU, Dr Abubakar Abdullahi, said this at a press conference on Thursday at the ASUU secretariat in Kaduna, stressing that the union was prepared to meet with the government at any time.

He said its priority was to find lasting solutions to the problems confronting the university.

He said, “Even if government calls us now, we are ready to move. Anything that will bring peace and stability to the system is what we want. Even if it is 3am, wherever we are, we are ready to go and engage and find solutions to the problems.”

Abdullahi explained that the two-week ultimatum issued by the union followed a directive from its national leadership, but expressed optimism that dialogue with the state government would yield concrete solutions before the expiration of the ultimatum.

He said the union was not interested in shutting down the university, noting that industrial action would negatively affect lecturers, students and the institution.

According to him, “We don’t want to go on strike. We don’t want to shut down the university because we know the implications. We want peace and stability in the university.”

The chairman identified the implementation and domestication of the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU agreement as the union’s major demand, saying the agreement was designed to address issues of staff welfare and conditions of service in Nigerian universities.

He said, “Our major concern is the implementation of the 2025 agreement. If the agreement is implemented, it will go a long way in addressing the welfare of our members and some of the challenges facing the university.”

Abdullahi recalled that the union had previously embarked on industrial action over 10 issues, adding that three had since been addressed by the authorities.

He commended the authorities for resolving the three issues but said seven others remained outstanding, noting that the union had continued to pursue them through dialogue for nearly two years.

He said, “We have 10 issues that we raised before. Three have been addressed and we appreciate the government for that. But seven are still outstanding and we have been engaging for almost two years.”

The PUNCH reports that the development followed the two-week ultimatum issued by ASUU-KASU amid concerns over the departure of academic staff from the university and the non-implementation of the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU agreement.

The union had warned that failure to address its demands could lead to a total and indefinite strike.

The union had also raised concerns over other unresolved matters, including university autonomy, excessive workload, promotion arrears, death benefits, group life insurance, wage awards and pension remittances.

The crisis came to the fore after ASUU-KASU alleged that more than 200 academic staff, including professors, had left the institution over poor conditions of service and failure to implement the 2025 agreement.

However, the Kaduna State Government, through the Principal Private Secretary to Governor Uba Sani, Prof Bello Ayuba, on Wednesday expressed its readiness to engage the union in dialogue to prevent a strike.

Ayuba, while addressing a press conference, urged ASUU-KASU to embrace dialogue and established channels of engagement, assuring that the government was committed to resolving the issues and avoiding disruption of academic activities.

Abdullahi urged the state government and other stakeholders to seize the opportunity for renewed engagement, assuring that the union would negotiate in good faith.

He said, “Anything that will bring peace and stability to the system, we are ready for it. We are ready to sit down with government and find solutions to these problems.”

The chairman appealed to the government to urgently address the outstanding demands, saying this would help restore confidence among academic staff and avert disruption of academic activities at KASU.