ASUU: Adhere To Court Order FG Says

The Federal Government yesterday advised the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to obey a National Industrial Court (NIC) ruling that ordered striking lecturers to return to work.

Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, said a new directive by ASUU, exhorting its members to continue with the strike was lawlessness.

He added that “the Federal Government strongly frowns at this.”
In a statement in Abuja by his Deputy Director, Press and Public Relations, Olajide Oshundun, the minister accused the ASUU leadership of misinforming and misleading its members.

He warned of the consequences of contempt of court.

The NIC on September 21, 2022, ordered ASUU to end its ongoing nationwide strike, which began on February 14.

Justice Polycarp Hamman, in a ruling, said he was invoking Section 18 of the Trade Dispute Act, which allows the court to order an end to strike when national interest is at stake.

Justice Hamman held that it was necessary to end the strike because the students have a right to education.

Ngige, in the statement, lampooned ASUU.

He said: “The union is dishonest and misleading its members and the general public, that it has filed an appeal as well as a stay of execution of the order of National Industrial Court of September 21, 2022, though it has none of this.
“Rather, ASUU only filed an application for permission to appeal the order. It also attached to the application, a proposed notice of appeal which it intends to file if the leave to appeal is granted.

“The application for a stay of execution, as of this moment, has not even been listed for hearing. Where is ASUU coming from?

“It is therefore contemptuous, dishonest and misleading for the union to tell its members that it has not only appealed the interlocutory injunction by the National Industrial Court directing it to call off the strike and return to work, but that it also has a stay of execution.”

The minister, once again, urged the union to respect the court order and return to work while negotiations are concluded on the remaining issues in contention.

The statement also denied reports that Ngige walked out of the meeting between the House of Representatives and ASUU last Thursday.

It explained that the minister left the meeting to attend to other pressing matters with the permission of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, after making his presentation.
Obey court order, Fed Govt tells ASUU
By Frank Ikpefan, Abuja On Oct 3, 2022

 

The Federal Government yesterday advised the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to obey a National Industrial Court (NIC) ruling that ordered striking lecturers to return to work.

Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, said a new directive by ASUU, exhorting its members to continue with the strike was lawlessness.

He added that “the Federal Government strongly frowns at this.”

In a statement in Abuja by his Deputy Director, Press and Public Relations, Olajide Oshundun, the minister accused the ASUU leadership of misinforming and misleading its members.

He warned of the consequences of contempt of court.

The NIC on September 21, 2022, ordered ASUU to end its ongoing nationwide strike, which began on February 14.

Justice Polycarp Hamman, in a ruling, said he was invoking Section 18 of the Trade Dispute Act, which allows the court to order an end to strike when national interest is at stake.

Justice Hamman held that it was necessary to end the strike because the students have a right to education.

Ngige, in the statement, lampooned ASUU.

He said: “The union is dishonest and misleading its members and the general public, that it has filed an appeal as well as a stay of execution of the order of National Industrial Court of September 21, 2022, though it has none of this.

“Rather, ASUU only filed an application for permission to appeal the order. It also attached to the application, a proposed notice of appeal which it intends to file if the leave to appeal is granted.

“The application for a stay of execution, as of this moment, has not even been listed for hearing. Where is ASUU coming from?

“It is therefore contemptuous, dishonest and misleading for the union to tell its members that it has not only appealed the interlocutory injunction by the National Industrial Court directing it to call off the strike and return to work, but that it also has a stay of execution.”

The minister, once again, urged the union to respect the court order and return to work while negotiations are concluded on the remaining issues in contention.

The statement also denied reports that Ngige walked out of the meeting between the House of Representatives and ASUU last Thursday.

It explained that the minister left the meeting to attend to other pressing matters with the permission of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, after making his presentation.

 

 

It stated that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation was earlier granted such permission by the Speaker.

The statement further recalled that at that meeting, Ngige addressed the two major issues over which ASUU was still on strike.

“On renegotiation of salaries and wages of lecturers, I sympathise with ASUU just like other Nigerian workers. The economy is bad and biting hard on everybody. ASUU deserves no blame.

“They (ASUU leadership) know that many times during reconciliation talks, I said that left to me, this is what lecturers will get. I know the enormity of the work they do and have brothers who are also lecturers.

“The Briggs Committee was the product of reconciliation of my ministry, which had to move to ASUU’s direct employers – Ministry of Education – for a Collective Bargaining Agreement, so we can arrive on what is good to be paid to ASUU, subject to approval by the President

“The President has a Presidential Committee on Salaries and Wages chaired by the Minister of Finance, with me as co-chair and other members – National Salaries Income and Wages Commission, Budget Office etc.

“Every MDA, whether drawing from the treasury or not, must pass through this committee on any issue concerning salaries for approval, before transmission to the President.

“The report of the Briggs Committee did not, unfortunately, pass this route,” the statement said.

Ngige revealed that when the issue of the payment platform – UTAS came up on January 9, 2020, he was the one that persuaded the President to give the platform a trial in the spirit of Executive Orders 3 and 4.

“The SGF supported me. That was how I took it upon myself to write to all the parties – Communication and Digital Economy, NITDA, ASUU and others.

“At a point, I had to spend three and half hours at the Office of the Accountant-General, while UTAS was on demonstration because we must support this platform that promised to save us foreign exchange.

“If the system is good, we adopt it for the whole country, but meanwhile – the hardware is not there. How do you do it? Three of them – IPPIS, UTAS, and UPPPS – have failed the test.

“Do you recommend something that has failed a test? So, no matter how much I love ASUU, I won’t support something that failed a test.

“I advised ASUU when the first result came, to have UTAS do a handshake with IPPIS so as to capture all the university system peculiarities. They accepted but while the negotiation was going on, they went on strike,” the statement said.

The minister also narrated how medical doctors once threatened to go on strike over IPPIS.

“But their peculiarities have now been captured by IPPISS, even those teaching in the universities with special allowances.

“About a year ago, NARD wrote to me that they would go on strike if we didn’t put them on IPPIS. This is because all their peculiarities have been captured and no one is losing anything,” the statement added.

Daily News Reporters