By Waziri Isa Adam
For the second time in the history of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Ahmadu Bello University branch, the once-strongest and most influential union has lost the congregation elections to the Governing Council of the premier university.
The union’s anointed comrades—Professor Muhammad Nasiru Shuaibu and Dr. Aliyu Dalha Kankia—were defeated by the two candidates jointly presented by the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and Nigerian Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT)—Barr. Comrade Hadiza Dije Ali and Muhammad Bashir Sani, respectively.
According to the election results released yesterday by the ABU Congregation Elections Committee 2025, SSANU’s candidate, Barrister Comrade Hadiza Dije Ali, who was the most popular candidate, scored the highest vote with 860, while NAAT’s candidate, Muhammad Bashir Sani, came second with 679 votes. ASUU’s anointed candidates, Professor M.N. Shuaibu and Dr. Ali Dalha Kankia, scored 361 and 463 votes, respectively.
Ironically, despite ASUU’s staff population surpassing the combined population of both SSANU and NAAT, the union’s larger size did not translate to victory. With over 3,000 staff members compared to SSANU’s 1,500 and NAAT’s 400.
ASUU’s loss is believed to be attributed either to voter apathy among its members or a vote of no confidence in its leadership, or due to the clueless nature of the present top executives of the union, suggesting that the union’s influence has completely waned due to the gross incompetence and nepotistic attitudes of its highest leadership in the branch.
Some patriotic members of the branch are of the belief that for the Union to regain its rightful position and influence in the University, veterans of the Union need to step in to salvage it from total collapse.