Opposition politicians in Kaduna State have been fingered in the ongoing strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Kaduna State University (KASU) branch, as part of a move to allegedly discredit the efforts of the State governor, Uba Sani.
A reliable source who pleaded anonymity revealed that the strike notification letter was drafted in the residence of one of the politicians in Kaduna, where ASUU/KASU officials were camped to do their bidding.
The notification letter dated 24 April 2025, jointly signed by the chairman and Secretary of ASUU-KASU, Dr. Peter Adamu and Dr. Peter Waziri, made seven-point demands from the State government.
Some of the demands included payment of all withheld salaries from May to September 2022, and others, payment of Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) from 2016 to date, and non-remittance of pension from 2009 to 2019.
However, the source said that though the government is a continuity, what the ASUU demands did not happen under Governor Sani’s administration.
The source expressed shock that despite the governor’s good gestures and cordial relationships with the union and the university authority, they rewarded his government with strike action.
“There is no doubt that opposition political parties and politicians are behind this strike action by ASUU. They must have incited them to bring down the government of Governor Uba Sani, knowing fully well that the governor has a good working relationship with the Union and the university.
“Can you imagine that as soon as the notification of strike action was drafted, it was already on social media handles of some of the politicians. What does this tell you? It means that ASUU officials were camped in a politician’s residence and drafted the letter.
“I don’t think ASUU officials are interested in this strike because it appears they were coerced into embarking on this fruitless strike. And I am happy to hear that the State government has set up a committee consisting of ASUU officials and government officials to reach a peaceful agreement”. The source said.
Meanwhile, the ASUU notification letter reads in part, “The indefinite strike action is due to the breach of trust and failure of the government of Kaduna State to keep promises and honour the agreement reached by both parties.”
