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The management of Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology (ADUSTECH), Wudil, has defended the review of its Conditions of Service, insisting the exercise was lawful, transparent and inclusive.
In a statement issued on Sunday night by the Head of the Information and Public Affairs Unit, Abdullahi Datti Abdullahi, the university described ASUU’s claims that the review process was illegal as “baseless, misleading and a distortion of the facts.”
Abdullahi Datti Abdullahi, in the statement, explained that the review process began about five years ago under the University’s 4th Governing Council, continued under the 5th Council and was concluded by the current 6th Governing Council after inconsistencies were identified in the existing Conditions of Service and other governing documents.
“The Governing Council acted strictly within its statutory powers throughout the review process. Although it had the legal authority to review the documents independently, it deliberately constituted a broad-based committee to ensure transparency, inclusiveness and stakeholder participation,” the statement said.
The management disclosed that representatives of all in-house unions, including ASUU, were members of the review committee.
It explained that ASUU’s representative automatically ceased to serve after proceeding on sabbatical leave in line with university regulations, while repeated requests for the union to nominate a replacement were ignored.
The statement added that although the representative was later reinstated, ASUU allegedly directed its members not to endorse the committee’s final report.
It also accused the union of boycotting a sensitisation meeting organised to explain the revised documents to staff and labour unions.
ADUSTECH further revealed that the Governing Council approved significant amendments to the promotion criteria, including reducing the proportion of publication points required from Scopus- and Web of Science-indexed journals to 2.5 per cent for promotion to Associate Professor and 5 per cent for Professor.
The university said implementation of the revised Conditions of Service commenced in October 2026, while provisions affecting academic staff were deferred until 2027 under a transitional arrangement.
The management also claimed that despite rejecting the reviewed Conditions of Service, ASUU accepted the enhanced financial benefits contained in the revised document.
It urged members of the public to disregard what it described as misinformation surrounding the exercise and called on the union to prioritise the overall development of the institution.
