At the resumed sitting on Friday, counsel for the Nigerian government, James Igwe, asked the court to give the suit an accelerated hearing due to the urgency of the matter to enable the students to return to school.
The National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) sitting in Abuja has again adjourned the lawsuit between the Nigerian Government and the striking university lecturers, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) till Friday, September 16.
At the resumed sitting on Friday, counsel for the Nigerian government, James Igwe, asked the court to give the suit an accelerated hearing due to the urgency of the matter to enable the students to return to school.
Igwe told the court that since the matter was already in court, it would be proper for the strike to be called off, pending the determination of the suit.
ASUU has been on strike since February 14 to press home the demand for improved funding for universities, and a review of salaries for lecturers, among other issues.
Several meetings between ASUU and the government have ended in a deadlock.
In a letter dated September 8 and addressed to the chief registrar of the industrial court, Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige asked that the suit be given an accelerated hearing in order to resolve the dispute between the union and the government.
He asked the court to interpret in its entirety the provisions of Section 18 LFN 2004, especially as it applies to the cessation of strike action once a trade dispute is being resolved.