Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has pledged an additional N262 million monthly to help resolve the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) at Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK).
Sule made the commitment on Wednesday while speaking at the 2026 Nasarawa Youth Summit in Akwanga, organised by the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Nasarawa State chapter, to mark International Youth Day.
The governor also appealed to the striking lecturers to suspend the industrial action and return to the classrooms, stressing that students were already preparing for examinations.
Sule explained that his administration inherited a monthly subvention of N140 million for the university, which was inadequate to cover lecturers’ salaries and had previously forced the institution to rely on student levies and other charges to bridge funding gaps.
According to him, the government subsequently assumed full responsibility for the payment of lecturers’ salaries, with the monthly wage bill rising to more than N400 million following the establishment of new faculties, including Engineering in Gudi and Medicine.
He said the current dispute was largely centred on the payment of allowances owed lecturers for additional academic workloads, with the outstanding liability now put at about N362 million.
The governor noted that, following engagements with NSUK student leaders who approached the government through dialogue rather than joining the strike, his administration agreed to shoulder N262 million of the outstanding allowance, while the university management would provide the balance.
Sule commended the students’ union for choosing dialogue over industrial action, describing the approach as an example of responsible youth engagement.
He urged the university management and ASUU to reciprocate the gesture by ending the strike and resuming academic activities.
The governor acknowledged that the state government, like other state administrations, was operating under severe economic constraints following the removal of fuel subsidy and the unification of the foreign exchange market.
Despite the challenges, Sule reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to the welfare of NSUK students and lecturers, assuring that the government would continue to support the institution within available resources.
He appealed to the striking lecturers to consider the plight of students and return to work so that academic activities could resume without further disruption.
