The Sokoto state government has appealed to striking lecturers of the Sokoto State University (SSU) to return to their classes and remain apolitical.

The state commissioner for higher education, Isa Maishanu, made the call during a press conference on Friday in Sokoto.

Mr Maishanu blamed the industrial action embarked by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), SSU chapter, as politically motivated.

He enjoined the group of intellectuals to respect themselves and not to become political tools on a mission to satisfy the interests of some individuals or groups in the state.

The commissioner recalled that the university was in shambles when the present administration of Governor Ahmad Aliyu took over, and he immediately made efforts to restore the institution to its glory.

According to him, a committee, which he headed, was constituted by Mr Aliyu, and it considered all the demands made by the lecturers, comprising salary areas, earned academic allowance (EAA), and outstanding promotion arrears.

Mr Maishanu added that remittances of the union’s check-off dues and cooperative deductions had since been restored.

He highlighted that the outstanding payments of visiting and sabbatical lecturers mainstreaming of earned academic allowance (EAA) have also commenced.

He further lamented that the institution’s staff quarters were not properly managed by the previous administration, and Mr Aliyu is determined to repair them while he restores the university’s monthly allocations.

The commissioner noted that based on the government commitments alongside the appointment of professors and other academicians in his cabinet as well as the high percentage of the education budget by the administration, it ought to be commended by the union members.

The ASUU-SSU branch on Wednesday commenced indefinite strike action demanding state government to resolve some lingering issues.

A statement signed by ASUU branch chairman and secretary, Sa’idu Abubakar and Hassan Aliyu, stated that unsolved issues included the non-implementation of 25 per cent and 35 per cent salary increment and its consequential adjustment.

The union was also demanding the payment of arrears of the 25 per cent and 35 per cent salary increments from January 2024 to date.

Others comprised payment of outstanding earned academic allowance (EAA) for seven academic sessions and outstanding payment of promotion arrears for three academic sessions.

They were also demanding payment of the annual increment for five academic sessions, outstanding remittances of the union’s check-off dues and cooperative deductions, and outstanding payments of visiting and sabbatical lecturers mainstreaming of earned academic allowance (EAA).

The union prior to its decision decried that ASUU-SSU Congress met to review its earlier resolution taken on January 30, 2025, and assess the government’s commitment to addressing the lingering issues raised.

According to them, the meeting was chaired by the visitation team sent to the branch by the National Executive Council (NEC) of ASUU.

“Following a thorough review of the government’s responses to the issues in contention, Congress was not convinced that the university administration, the governing council, and the state government were committed to addressing the issues,” the union said in its earlier statement.

(NAN)