FG Vs ASUU: Court Adjourns Case Till Friday

BY CHIKA OKEKE, Abuja

Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige and ASUU President, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke

National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) has adjourned the suit filed by the federal government against the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to September 16th, 2022, over the seven-month industrial action embarked by the union.

The federal government had on Sunday disclosed that it referred the prolonged ASUU strike to the NICN for adjudication given the failed odialogue between the union and the Federal Ministry of Education.

A press statement signed by the Head, Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Olajide Oshundun, stated that the suit, dated September 8, 2022 was addressed to the Registrar of NICN and signed by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige.

But when the case was mentioned before Justice Polycarp Hamman of the NICN on Monday, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) lawyer, Ebunolu Adegoruwa, SAN, requested to join the suit as an interested party.

Adegoruwa argued that his client had filed a similar suit to compel the federal government to honour its 2009 agreement with the striking lecturers.

He said that SERAP’s request to join in the matter is based on the need to forestall the duplicity of outcomes concerning the industrial dispute.

However, counsel to the federal government, Tijjani Gazali (SAN) kicked against SERAP’s application to consolidate the suits.

He informed the judge that SERAP’s application was premature as the case was billed for mention on Monday.

Counsel to ASUU, Femi Falana, however, argued that he was aware of the efforts by lawyers to file court papers in the suit on Monday.

The judge ruled that the suit is not ripe for consolidation by SERAP and that he was only presiding over the matter as a vacation judge.

He assured that the case would be assigned to another judge for adjudication.

To this end, he ordered the parties in the suit to file and exchange court documents as he adjourned the matter to Friday, 16 September 2022.

Addressing journalists shortly after tbe adjournment, counsel to ASUU, Falana, berated the federal government for going to the court.

He said that the federal government should stop trying to blackmail ASUU, adding that university lecturers have not stopped working.

Also speaking, counsel to the federal government, Tijanni Gazali, said that ASUU cannot dictate the platform that its members will be paid.

He stated that the agreement reached between the federal government and ASUU has been substantially implemented and that details of the agreement will form part of the papers they will file before the court.

Additional report with Channels TV

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