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The Nigerian Government has vowed to enforce strict compliance of the court ruling asking ASUU to call of its eight-month- strike and resume negotiations with the FG.
Recall that the National Industrial Court (NIC) and the Court of Appeal ruled that ASUU should go back to classrooms and continue their negotiations with the government.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, who issued this threat on Friday during an interview on Channel TV, adding that he has directed labor controllers to monitor compliance at all tertiary institutions across the states.
He said, “The court says ASUU must obey today (Friday). I have asked labour controllers in the 36 states and the zones to reach out to the universities; number one, to see if the vice chancellors have opened the gates because that is one of the imports of the judgment of the Industrial Court.
“You must open the gates, you must open the class rooms and to see whether those workers, those teachers reported today, tomorrow Friday and Saturday. My labour controllers will write me a report.
“If they come back to their classroom, they will have time to attach evidence and do their appeal. My labour controllers will also give me things to support education in the country. If they don’t, go and read that portion of the NICN Act, they will be charged for contempt,” he said.
Meanwhile, in its reactions ASUU said it’s still studying the ruling of the appeal court and will take a decision very soon.
The union’s national president, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke reacted on behalf of the union shortly after the ruling on Friday.
Recall that the Court of Appeal dismissed ASUU’s appeal of the National Industrial Court and ask the union to call off it strike.
The court gave the order after dismissing the union’s application for a stay of execution of an earlier ruling of the National Industrial Court directing the university lecturers to resume work.
The three-member panel of the Court of Appeal led by Hamma Barka granted the union permission to appeal the ruling of the industrial court but ruled that it must first resume work to be allowed to file the appeal.
It said should ASUU fail to re-open the universities, the permission it gave the union to appeal against the interlocutory injunction of the National Industrial Court “will be automatically vacated.”
It gave the university lecturers’ union seven days within which to file its notice of appeal against the order of the National Industrial Court.