Kaduna State PDP Governorship candidate, Hon. Usman Shehu Bawa (ABG)
The 2027 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Kaduna State, Hon. Usman Shehu Bawa (ABG), has accused the administration of Governor Uba Sani of neglecting the funding of tertiary education while allegedly prioritising overseas travels, publicity and other government expenses.
Bawa made the allegations in a statement on Tuesday while reacting to the lingering industrial crisis between the Kaduna State Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Kaduna State University (KASU) chapter.
He described the dispute as “no longer a simple industrial dispute,” but rather “an urgent, alarming indictment of the state of our society” and a reflection of what he called the direction of Kaduna State under the present administration.
According to him, the prolonged dispute was taking a heavy toll on students, parents and lecturers, with students facing delays to their academic programmes and parents incurring additional accommodation and living expenses.
“Every single day this crisis persists, real lives are being shattered across our state,” Bawa said.
He also expressed concern over what he described as the exodus of experienced lecturers from KASU due to poor working conditions and unresolved grievances.
“We are actively driving away the brilliant minds responsible for training the doctors, engineers, lawyers, teachers, and innovators who should be building Kaduna’s tomorrow,” he said.
The governorship hopeful challenged the state government’s claims about its commitment to education, arguing that budgetary allocations on paper did not necessarily translate into actual releases and expenditure.
Bawa cited Kaduna State budget implementation reports for 2023, 2024 and 2025, which he said showed a decline in the proportion of the state’s final budget allocated to education.
According to the figures contained in his statement, education accounted for about 27.6 per cent of the final budget in 2023, falling to 19.6 per cent in 2024 and 16.9 per cent in 2025.
He further claimed that the education sector allocation for 2026 was reduced during the year from N243.9 billion to N219.2 billion, representing a decline from 24.74 per cent to 22.2 per cent of the state budget.
“The critical danger to our state is not what the government promises on paper, but the total failure to release, spend, and deliver those funds where they are desperately needed,” Bawa said.
He alleged that KASU was particularly affected by poor capital releases, claiming that of approximately N15.2 billion in combined final capital allocations to the university in 2024 and 2025, only about N439.7 million, or 2.8 per cent, was released.
“You cannot maintain a functioning institution, let alone build a modern university, on empty promises and non-existent funding,” he said.
The PDP candidate also questioned government spending on international transport and travels.
He claimed that Kaduna State spent approximately N13.2 billion on international transport and travels between 2024 and the first half of 2026.
According to the figures he cited, the expenditure amounted to N2.7 billion in 2024, N8.3 billion in 2025 and N2.2 billion by June 2026.
Bawa contrasted the alleged expenditure with the N800 million in earned academic allowances he said was owed to university staff.
He also cited what he described as substantial spending on Government House maintenance, publicity and advertisements, entertainment and hospitality.
“While our tertiary institutions bleed from neglect and lecturers fight for their basic survival, the state government is engaging in unconscionable, lavish spending elsewhere,” he alleged.
Bawa claimed that the government spent N2.1 billion on publicity and advertisements in 2025 and another N694.6 million by mid-2026.
“When students are losing crucial years of their lives and lecturers are abandoning their posts, we must confront the horrifying question of what this government truly values: lavish international trips and public relations, or the survival and future of our children,” he said.
The opposition politician urged the state government to immediately return to negotiations with ASUU-KASU and address the grievances responsible for the continuing crisis.
He also called for the implementation of what he described as the 2025 Federal Government-ASUU agreement.
Bawa said his administration, if elected in 2027, would introduce what he called the Five-Point ABG Education Alternative, including cash-backed education budgeting, dedicated funding for infrastructure and research, permanent dialogue with ASUU, reduction of government travel and luxury expenditure, and a public performance dashboard to track education spending.
“We will enforce cash-backed budgeting so that allocations are matched by immediate cash releases rather than paper promises,” he said.
He added that his administration would “slash wasteful administrative travel and luxury spending to redirect billions into classrooms.”
Bawa argued that Kaduna’s reputation as a “Centre of Learning” could not be sustained without substantial investment in its schools and tertiary institutions.
“Kaduna claims to be the Centre of Learning, but that title is being reduced to an empty slogan while our universities fall apart and our youth are left stranded,” he said.
“The true test of an education budget is not the grand figure announced during a press speech, but the actual lives changed when those funds reach the classroom.”
He urged Governor Sani’s administration to end what he called its “propaganda campaign” against critics and focus on resolving the KASU crisis.
“Our students cannot remain collateral damage, our parents cannot continue paying for administrative incompetence, and our lecturers must not be forced to choose between their professional dedication and basic human survival,” Bawa said.
The statement included tables and graphic representations purportedly drawn from Kaduna State Government budget implementation reports for 2023, 2024, 2025 and the second quarter of 2026.
END.
