The Federal Government’s lawsuit against the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) was moved by the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) to Friday this week amid a breakdown in negotiations that forced efforts to reopen public universities in the nation to turn to the courts yesterday.
The Minister of Labor and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, has petitioned the court to order the lecturers on strike to return to the classrooms, citing the failure of discussions. Adamu Adamu, the minister of education, joined the case, and Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, the president of ASUU, is the only defendant.
Since February 14, 2022, ASUU has been on strike to press home demands for better university funding, implementation of its University Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS), and a review of lecturer salaries, among other issues. Several meetings between ASUU and government have resulted in a deadlock on these issues.
Except for the professorial cadre, which would receive a 35 percent increase, the government had last week announced a 23.5% increase for other categories of employees at federal universities. Additionally, the government announced that N150 billion would be set aside in the 2023 budget as money for federal university revitalization, with funding to be distributed to institutions in the first quarter of the following year.
ASUU, however, rejected the offer, claiming it was insufficient to address the numerous problems facing public colleges.
However, President Muhammadu Buhari reportedly urged the government team involved in the negotiations against signing a contract that the government would not be able to complete, according to Education Minister Adamu Adamu.
Ngige requested that the case be given an accelerated hearing in a letter dated September 8 and written to the chief registrar of the industrial court in order to settle the conflict between the union and the government.
Human rights advocate Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN), however, informed the court that he was representing the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), a civil society organization that had filed a lawsuit on the same issue before the same court on September 8, asking the court to compel the Federal Government to do something.
He mentioned the case number NICN/ABJ/269/2022, in which the Federal Government was named as the defendant and SERAP as the claimant. Then, in order to avoid multiple lawsuits on the same topic being heard by the same court, he requested that the cases be merged and included SERAP as a defendant. If the request to join the lawsuit is granted, he claims, it will prevent inconsistent results.
Tijjani Gazali, the federal government’s attorney, opposed the joinder request. He said that SERAP’s application was premature because the case was scheduled for mention on Monday and that it was unnecessary for SERAP to orally request to be included in a lawsuit in a case where its name was not on the cause list.
In response to the points made by Adegboruwa and Gazali, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), who was in court on behalf of ASUU, stated that both lawyers had notified him on Monday that they were each filing certain papers.
Therefore, Falana pleaded with the court to adjourn the case so that both attorneys may file their documents and return later, at which point he would have answered to the claimant’s proceedings.
The judge, Justice Polycarp Hamman, decided on the application and agreed with the government that SERAP’s application was premature. Hamman said that a different judge will preside over the case and that he was merely acting as a vacation judge.
The court case was then postponed until September 16 after the judge instructed the parties to the lawsuit to file and exchange legal documents. He also gave instructions for the claimant to file and serve his process and for the defendant to do the same before the adjourned date.
The Federal Government requests that the court “understand Section 18 LFN 2004 in its totality, particularly as it relates to the stoppage of strike once a trade dispute is apprehended by the Minister of Labour and Employment and conciliation is proceeding.”
Additionally, they are pleading with the court to give a directive allowing ASUU members to continue their employment at their respective universities while the matters at issue are being resolved by the NICN in accordance with the terms of Section 18 (I) (b) of the TDA Cap T8. LFN 2004.”
The government also wants the court to decide whether ASUU members are eligible for pay during their strike-related absence.
ASUU rejected the government’s request to resume while government worked on its requests, in contrast to other university-based unions.
The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities and Other Associated Institutions (NASU), and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) have all called off the strike, but they have given the government an ultimatum to comply with their demands.
After Monday’s events, Falana spoke to the media and claimed that the administration was using “dilatory measures that have a habit of prolonging strikes.”
Falana brought up the resident doctors’ disagreement with the government from the previous year, which led to a lawsuit at the NICN, in the presence of ASUU president Osodeke and other ASUU officials.
“The government still needs to organize its affairs. The reason for adjournment is that the government was unable to establish a case for the court’s intervention. This is not the first time the administration has used these somewhat ineffective strategies that tend to make strikes last longer.
Falana brought up the resident doctors’ disagreement with the government from the previous year, which led to a lawsuit at the NICN, in the presence of ASUU president Osodeke and other ASUU officials.
“The government still needs to organize its affairs. The reason for adjournment is that the government was unable to establish a case for the court’s intervention. This is not the first time the administration has used these somewhat ineffective strategies that tend to make strikes last longer.
“We were present last year during the walkout of resident doctors. The method was the same. The administration claimed that the resident doctors would not be paid, but in the end, they had to be compensated. And that is what consistently occurs.
Adegboruwa said that the Federal Government had neglected its obligation to fund public universities, which made SERAP’s lawsuit necessary.
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has threatened to blockade the Lagos-Ibadan expressway starting today in protest at the government’s reluctance to end the seven-month strike.
NANS said in a statement yesterday that it is prepared to block the Lagos-Ibadan expressway in order to shut down the nation’s economy in order to draw the government’s attention.
All students in the zone were urged to participate in the demonstration by Emmanuel Olatunji Adegboye, the NANS Southwest Zonal Coordinator. For the protest, he invited students to congregate near the Shagamu Interchange.
The statement said: “ASUU has been on strike for more than six months, which has prevented academic activity on campus. Unfortunately, the Federal Government has shown little consideration for the emotions of Nigerian students, demonstrating that this administration has no interest in their academic aspirations.
“Last week, a lecturer killed himself, leaving behind three children, all because the government failed to prioritize his wellness.
Based on the aforementioned, we now condemn the ongoing ASUU strike, which has negatively impacted Nigerian students’ academic progress over the past six months. We also vote to remove Chris Ngige, the minister of labor, and Mallam Adamu Adamu, the minister of education.
Yesterday, the Federal Government was urged to dismiss the charges against ASUU by a group called the Education Rights Campaign (ERC). This was said in a statement given to journalists in Ibadan by Michael Lenin and Ogunjimi Isaac Ayobami, the deputy national coordinator (Mobilisation Officer).
We urge the government to abandon its scheme to punish ASUU in favor of granting the union’s requests for the reopening of public universities. The fact that the ASUU strike has persisted for approximately seven months without any honest or serious response from the government demonstrates how careless it is towards public education.
“As a practical measure, we are urging trade unions and civil society organizations to participate in a nonviolent solidarity action at the industrial court tomorrow or on any day the issue is discussed. We also reaffirm our ongoing request for the NLC and TUC to conduct a 48-hour nationwide strike and widespread protest in order to pressure the government into granting ASUU and other unions’ demands so that students of public universities can resume their academic activities,” the group said.
Additionally, the government’s action against ASUU has been denounced by the Campaign for Democratic and Workers’ Rights (CDWR). Comrades Rufus Olusesan, the national chairperson, and Chinedu Bosah, the national publicity secretary, issued a statement on behalf of CDWR saying that the government’s latest move is just another attempt to strangle the union and set the stage for possible legal action against ASUU and its members.
Meanwhile, the government’s decision to take the disagreement with ASUU to the industrial court has been met with a variety of responses. The Federal Government should not have raised a referral instrument to the NICN to resolve the trade dispute, according to some parents who spoke yesterday in Abuja. Others also blamed ASUU for the protracted strike.
Mr Mark Yohanna said: “Taking ASUU to court is 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.”
Emmanuel Ejike, another parent, said it was unfortunate that the children of the poor have lost an academic session due to the ongoing strike. He said 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. He urged the government to find an honest way to stop the strike rather than going to court.
Mrs Kemi Olusola, a parent, said referring the trade dispute with ASUU to court 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.
“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.
Mr John Osita, another parent, said the strike was long overdue and the Federal Government’s move was laudable.
“I am very happy with the government for finally taking such a decision. I think the court will do justice to the issues in contention. I am pained about this whole strike and I pray that the court will resolve the dispute between the parties as quickly as possible,” he said.
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