You are welcome to the Katsina State Ministry of Higher, Technical, and Vocational Education for an emergency press briefing.

The press briefing stems from the earlier briefing conducted by the Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities of Umaru Musa Yar'adua University.

The essence of the briefing was not to engage in conflict with the union but to set the record straight.

During the press briefing, the ASUU Chairman decried the reduction of the monthly overhead of the Katsina State-owned Umaru Musa Yar’Adua University (UMYU) from N16 million to N7 million by the state government.

As a result, he said the institution faces severe financial challenges and could no longer sustain itself with the meagre funds allocated to it by the state government.

He called on the state government to review the university’s overhead to enable the institution to meet its ever-expanding obligations.

Just to be clear, the current monthly overhead of N7 million for Umaru Musa Yar'adua was inherited from the previous administration of the State. Therefore, the current administration, led by Malam Dikko Umaru Radda, PhD, did not reduce the overhead for Umaru Musa Yar'adua University or any other institution in the State.

The administration received no complaints or requests to increase the University's monthly overhead. Therefore, the Union is raising concerns about the reduced and inadequate overhead, which the University management should address.

It is important to note that the government of Katsina State is promptly paying the staff of Umaru Musa Yar'adua University Earned Academic Allowance (EAA). As a result, it stands tall against all the public universities in the country in that respect.

Gentlemen of the press, I want to bring to your attention that Umaru Musa Yar'adua University has financial autonomy over its revenue, as it can generate and spend revenue without remitting any funds to the treasury of the Katsina State Government.

The university generates significant revenue from student registration, TETFUND interventions, and consultancy services. Despite this, the current government has never denied the university's requests for financial assistance. This support is unprecedented and includes the release of N85,992,000.00 for the accreditation of new courses and N40,000,000.00 for the conduct of the 9th-13th convocation ceremony.

The Governor of Katsina State, Malam Dikko Umaru Radda, PhD, CON, has demonstrated his administration's commitment to education development by paying off the outstanding liabilities for the construction of the faculty of agriculture at Layin Minista. This has allowed the University to begin using the faculty.

Additionally, the Governor has also cleared the outstanding contract liabilities for the ongoing construction of female and male hostels, classrooms, and laboratories at the College of Health Sciences.

The Governor has approved the Contractors' request to increase the contract amount due to the rising cost of building materials. This will help them to complete the project. Additionally, the Government has commissioned a Consultant firm to provide designs and cost estimates for the other facilities required for the successful operation of the College of Health Science and the start of clinical training. These critical facilities include the Clinical Students Library, Student Center, Staff Offices, Clinical Students Lecture Auditorium, and Perimeter Fencing, and are expected to cost over N5 billion Naira.

Dear members of the press, the government led by Malam Dikko Umaru Radda, PhD, CON, is dedicated to the advancement of education in the state. We are prepared to support Umaru Musa Yar'adua University, Katsina, to ensure it can compete with any other university in the country.

Thank you.