The Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate in Kaduna State for the 2027 election, Shehu Bawa, has urged the state government to resolve its dispute with the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Kaduna State University chapter.
Bawa called for increased funding and sustained dialogue with the union to restore stability at Kaduna State University and prevent further disruption of students’ academic calendars.
He made the call in a statement issued on Monday in Kaduna, expressing concern that the prolonged dispute had affected students, parents and lecturers.
According to him, repeated disruptions to the academic calendar have left many students uncertain about their graduation dates, while parents continue to shoulder additional accommodation and living costs.
Bawa also raised concerns about reports that lecturers were leaving the institution due to unresolved welfare issues.
He said Kaduna’s 2026 revised budget showed a decline in education spending from N243.9 billion to N219.2 billion, reducing its share of the total budget from 24.74 percent to 22.2 percent.
The PDP candidate added that education’s share of the state’s final budgets also fell from 27.6 percent in 2023 to 16.9 percent in 2025.
On funding for tertiary institutions, Bawa said KASU received about N15.2 billion in capital allocations for 2024 and 2025 combined, but only N439.7 million was reportedly released during the period.
He said similar funding gaps existed at the Kaduna State College of Education, Gidan Waya, and Nuhu Bamalli Polytechnic, Zaria.
Bawa also questioned the state government’s spending priorities, citing about N4.7 billion spent on foreign trips and estacodes in 2025, compared with N2.1 billion spent on publicity and advertisements.
“By mid-2026, an additional N2.1 billion had been spent on foreign travel estacodes,” he said.
He further lamented that the government had yet to settle about N800 million in academic allowances owed university staff.
To address the challenges, Bawa proposed a “Five-Point ABG Education Alternative”, which includes cash-backed budgeting to ensure actual releases match approved allocations, dedicated funding for infrastructure and research at KASU and other tertiary institutions, and regular engagement with ASUU to prevent future disruptions.
He also proposed cutting non-essential administrative spending and creating a public dashboard to track education budget allocations and releases.
“Kaduna has always been known as the Center of Learning. The true test of our education budget is not just the figures announced, but how much reaches the classrooms and changes lives,” Bawa said.
He urged the state government to resume negotiations with the ASUU-KASU chapter and work towards implementing the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU Agreement to restore stability in the state’s tertiary institutions.
“Our students deserve certainty, our parents deserve value for their sacrifice, and our lecturers deserve a conducive environment to teach,” he added.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the ASUU-KASU chapter began a two-week warning strike on August 27.
The strike followed the expiration of a two-week ultimatum issued by the union on August 12. ASUU rejected a N300 million earned allowance reportedly approved by Gov. Uba Sani, arguing that the amount was insufficient to address the union’s core demands.
