The Federal government on Monday urged the National Industrial Court to order the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to call off its seven months strike.
Joined as a claimant in the matter is the Minster of Education, with the President of ASUU as sole defendant.
The matter which came up before Justice Polycarp Hamman brought by Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige on behalf of the federal government, by way of referral is praying the court to order ASUU to resume academic activities, amongst other prayers.
When the matter slated for mention came up, Mr Ebunolu Adegoruwa, SAN, informed the court that he was representing Socio- Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and that he had filed a suit on the same subject matter before the same court.
He also stated that in the suit NICN/ABJ/269/2022, SERAP is the claimant with the federal government as the defendant.
He therefore proceeded to apply that the extant suit be consolidated and SERAP be joined in the suit as a defendant, instead of multiply suits on the same matter before the same court.
Counsel to the claimant, Mr T.A Gazali, SAN, in response said the application was premature and added that there was no need for SERAP to pray to be joined in a suit orally in a matter that did not have its name on the causelist.
Mr Femi Falana, SAN, counsel to ASUU in his response informed the court that both counsel had informed him on Monday that they both were filing some papers.
Falana in addition urged the court to step down the matter to enable both counsel to file their papers and then return at a later date after he would have responded to the claimant’s process
Adegoruwa replied that the defendant had not denied the existence of the suit SERAP filed and served on them.
Gazali on his part also informed the court that his process will be filed Monday and Falana said he would need three days to reply to the process.
The judge in his ruling adjourned the matter until Friday, for further mention.
He also directed that the claimant should file, serve his process, the defendant to also file and serve his response before the adjourned date.
Hamman in addition ruled that SERAP’s application for be joined in the suit was premature.
The suit filed by the claimant is also seeking the court to give the matter an accelerated hearing in order to bring the dispute to an end.
The claimant also in the instrument of referral is praying the court to: “Inquire into the legality or otherwise of the on-going prolonged strike by ASUU leadership and members which had continued even after apprehension by the Minister of Labour and Employment.
“Interpret in its entirety the provisions of Section 18, LFN 2004 especially as it applies to cessation of strike once a trade dispute is apprehended by the Minister of Labour end Employment and conciliation is on-going”.
Various talks between the parties on different occasions concerning the ongoing strike had not yielded any result, hence the referral of the matter to the court.
Mix reactions trail FG, ASUU court involvement to settle dispute
Meanwhile, some parents in the Federal Capital Territory(FCT) have expressed mixed reactions as the Federal Government referred the dispute with the Academic Staff Union of Universities(ASUU) to the National Industrial Court of Nigeria(NICN).
The parents on Monday said that it was unnecessary for the Federal Government to raise a referral instrument to the NICN to settle the trade dispute, while others also blamed ASUU for the prolonged strike.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, had in a letter addressed to the Registrar of NICN, called for a referral instrument following the failure of dialogue between the union and the Federal Ministry of Education.
The court is to inquire into the legality or otherwise of the ongoing prolonged strike by ASUU leadership and members that had continued even after apprehension.
Mr Mark Yohanna said, ”taking ASUU to court was a waste of time at this point the industrial court had been there, why didn’t they think of it since the beginning of the strike which had lingered for seven months.
“The issues that needed to be addressed are well spelt out by the striking lecturers before they can call off their strike, then why take them to court.
“ I do not think the industrial court will address those issues, except the Federal Government will comply with the agreement entered with ASUU.
“I want to say that the government is playing with time and the future of the Nigerian children which are their responsibility to charter for their interest and welfare, ‘’he said.
Mr Emmanuel Ejike, another parent, said that it was unfortunate that the children of the poor had lost an academic session due to the ongoing strike.
He said that the victims of such strikes were the students and their parents, while the students’ programmes would be extended, parents have been put under pressure and confusion.
“So, for me, this going to industrial court is neither here nor there, because I do not know what the aim is or what it intends to achieve,
“If their intention is to order ASUU to stop the strike, then the Federal Government would have done it earlier, is it even possible that whatever the court is going to say, the union will abide by it.
“By going to court, I think the government wants to use it to buy time, because people are not sure if the government is ready to address the issues and ASUU wants the government to be honest about them, ‘’he said.
He urged that the Federal Government should find an honest way to stop the strike rather than going to court.
Mrs Kemi Olusola, a parent, said that referring the trade dispute with ASUU to court by the Federal Government would compound the problem.
According to her, ASUU itself has said that if the Federal Government wants to resolve the issues within a day, that they have the capacity to do so.
“If government feels that the education of the Nigerian children of poor parents is paramount and important to them.
”If they believe that human capital development is critical to the development of the nation, they should do whatever it takes to resolve the issues soonest.
“ASUU is saying that they have not fulfilled the promises that they made so they cannot call off the strike until they see genuine commitment
“I think the government should try and see it from ASUU’s point of view, because they want to save the university system in this country, ”’she said.
Olusola said that no Nigerian university ranks among the first one thousand Universities in the whole.
She added, ” this should be a great concern to the Federal Government, because in the past, the public Universities do compete in the international space and also ranked very high.”
Also, Mrs Elizabeth Olajide, another parent, said it was commendable that the Federal Government had taken the striking lectures to court and that probably would make the issues resolved speedily.
According to Olajide, ”our children have lost one year and they should not lose the second one, because the children are tired of staying at home and they are angry and almost frustrated.
“So, I think that going to this court will achieve meaningful purpose, I hope the court will find a proper way of dealing with the matter, so that everyone can have rest of mind,
“That is both the students, parents and the teachers themselves, ‘’she said.
Mr John Osita, another parent, said that the strike was long overdue and that the Federal Government’s move was laudable.
“I am very happy with the government for finally taking such a decision, I am such that I think the court will do justice to the issues in contention.
“I am pained about this whole prolong strike and I pray that the court will resolve the dispute between the parties as quickly as possible, ”he said.
ASUU strike: Undergraduates seek alternatives
As a result of the protracted strike, sundergraduates have resorted to learning different kinds of skills following the continuous Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike.
Recall that ASUU had continued to extend the strike over alleged Federal Government’s failure to implement the Memorandum of Action it signed.
A cross-section of the students told NAN that they were tired of staying at home, so they used the opportunity to learn some trades.
Mr Shola Ayeni, a medical student at Lagos state University said he decided to learn how to repair electronic gadgets like laptops, headphones and other gadgets including cell phones.
Ayeni said his parents had been very supportive of him, since it seemed as if the ASUU strike had no end.
He said, ”from every indication, the strike might likely last longer as both parties appeared not to be interested in making compromises.”
Miss Veronica Ossai, a political science student at the University of Abuja said she decided to go into learning how to make footwears to build her future.
She urged the Federal Government and the union to think about the students and their future and resolve the impasse.
Ossai called on both parties ”to find a common ground for agreement for the good of the education sector and the country at large.”
Mrs Nike Oguntoye, a social science student with the University of Port Harcourt said she decided to learn how to bake to keep herself busy as the strike continued.
She said, ”although i used to have interest in baking, i used the strike as an opportunity to utilise and learn the skill.”
Oguntoye advised that since the strike seem had lingered, students should not to just sit at home doing nothing.
”They should engage themselves in activities that would benefit them,” she said.