By Atoyebi Nike
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Bayero University Kano (BUK) branch, on Tuesday held a peaceful protest in Kano, urging the Federal Government to sign and implement its renegotiated agreement and pay lecturers’ withheld salaries.
Branch Vice-Chairman, Comrade Yusuf Madugu, said the government had failed to act on the renegotiated 2009 agreement concluded in December 2024. He listed ASUU’s demands to include the payment of three and a half months’ outstanding salaries from the 2022 strike, proper funding of universities through revitalisation funds, improved wages and allowances, and respect for university autonomy.
Madugu noted that since the Jonathan administration approved a ₦200 billion revitalisation fund for universities, only one tranche had been released, leaving critical needs in laboratories, libraries, and classrooms unmet. He warned that the union would decide on further action at a national emergency congress if the government fails to respond.
The BUK Students Union Government president, Abdullahi Usman-Baba, also appealed to the Federal Government to dialogue with ASUU, stressing that students bear the greatest hardship whenever strikes disrupt the academic calendar.