Education: Gov Sani, Ashiru Trade Words

Kaduna State Government has faulted the African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate, Alhaji Isa Mohammed Ashiru, over his criticism of Governor Uba Sani’s commitment to education, saying the state has consistently exceeded global funding benchmarks.

The Commissioner for Information and Culture, Malam Ahmed Maiyaki, in a statement on Wednesday, said Ashiru is entitled to criticise the government but should base his arguments on verifiable facts.

“Mr Ashiru is entitled to criticise the government. But when an aspirant to the highest office in the state gets basic facts about education funding wrong, a little lesson becomes necessary,” he said.

He pointed out that the Education 2030 Framework for Action recommends at least four to six per cent of Gross Domestic Product or 25 per cent of total public expenditure for education.

According to him, Kaduna State allocated 25 per cent of its total budget to education in 2024; 26.14 per cent in 2025 and another 25 per cent of its N985.9 billion 2026 budget, amounting to approximately N246.5 billion, to the education sector.

“For three consecutive years, therefore, Governor Uba Sani has committed about one-quarter of Kaduna State’s annual budget to education,” he disclosed.

The commissioner said the state’s investment had also produced measurable results in basic education, tertiary education and skills development.

Meanwhile, the gubernatorial candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Kaduna state, Rt. Hon. Isa Mohammed Ashiru, has, in a statement,  expressed disappointment over what he called the lukewarm attitude of the APC-led government towards the education sector in the state, and on its failure to implement the 2025 Federal Government–Academic Staff Union of Universities (FGN-ASUU) agreement.

Ashiru said the government’s nonchalant attitude towards the future of the younger generation had led to the reported resignation of about 200 professors and other academic staff from the famous Kaduna State University (KASU) over poor working conditions.