Several meetings between ASUU and the federal government have ended in a deadlock.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige has been putting pressure on President Muhammadu Buhari to proscribe the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) for allegedly failing to obey the court ruling directing lecturers to call off their ongoing strike.
ASUU has been on strike since February 14 to press home their demand for improved funding for universities, and a review of salaries for lecturers, among other issues.
Several meetings between ASUU and the federal government have ended in a deadlock.
Consequently, the Nigerian government went to National Industrial Court to challenge the strike.
On September 21, the court granted the government’s application for an interlocutory injunction to restrain ASUU from continuing with the strike pending the determination of the substantive suit.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, the union approached the Court of Appeal seeking leave to challenge the lower court’s decision.
Last Friday, the Appeal Court ordered ASUU to call off its strike.
However, a source in the Presidency told SaharaReporters on Monday that Ngige advised the President to ban the association for allegedly failing to end the strike action.
“Ngige is asking President Buhari to ban ASUU, he claimed that ASUU hasn’t respected court order. Unknown to him, the Court of Appeal hasn’t released court recording requested by ASUU,” the source told SaharaReporters.
Meanwhile, SaharaReporters gathered that the Court of Appeal is yet to make a copy of its judgement ordering ASUU to call off its ongoing nationwide strike.
In a phone interview, Abubakar Marshal, a member of the team of counsel representing ASUU said although they immediately filed an application for a Certified Copy of the ruling same Friday the ruling was given, they were yet to get a copy of the ruling as at close of work on Tuesday, October 11, 2022 so as to avail the union a copy of same and advise their clients appropriately.
“ASUU is yet to get a copy of the Court of Appeal ruling granting it conditional leave to appeal the National Industrial Court ruling mandating the union to call off its almost 8-month-old strike.
“It would be recalled that the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division last Friday mandated the union to first comply with the interlocutory ruling of the National industrial Court and thereafter file a Notice of Appeal within 7 days of the granting of the application for leave to appeal.
“Although we immediately filed an application for a Certified Copy of the ruling same Friday, we are yet to get a copy of same (as at close of work on Tuesday October 11, 2022) so as to avail the union a copy of same and advise their clients appropriately.”
The main counsel for ASUU, Femi Falana, SAN, on Monday said the lingering strike action embarked upon by ASUU would be called off in a matter of days and not weeks.
The Senior Advocate disclosed on Monday in Lagos at the launch of a book titled ‘Breaking Coconut With Your Head’, authored by Lanre Arogundade.
He stated that it was likely that the striking lecturers and the Nigerian government would resolve their issues outside the courtroom.
A three-man panel of appellate court headed by Justice Hamma Barka last Friday ordered the striking lecturers to obey the ruling of the National Industrial Court and return to classroom effective from October 7.
The court however granted ASUU “conditional leave to appeal the order of the Industrial Court,” but insisted that ASUU should obey the order of the NIC.
Reacting to the Appeal Court's ruling, ASUU said it would review the judgment before it would decide on the next line of action.