Individuals from the Academic Staff Union of Universities who are Senior Advocates of Nigeria and Professors of Law among others will be safeguarding the association as the case established by the Federal Government at the National Industrial Court comes in the mood for hearing on Monday (today).
The PUNCH reports that the Federal Government had hauled the association before the NIC over its continuous strike what began on February 14, 2022.
The association is requesting, among others, the arrival of the revitalisation reserve for colleges, arrival of procured remittances for college instructors, arrangement of the University Transparency Accountability System for the installment of pay rates and recompenses of speakers, arrival of the white paper report of the appearance boards to colleges and the renegotiation of the ASUU-FGN 2009 understanding.
After endeavors to end the strike fizzled, the public authority chose to drag the association under the steady gaze of the modern court.
In a meeting with The PUNCH on Sunday, an individual from the association’s National Executive Council, who didn’t need his name on paper since he was not doled out to talk with the press, said the association would utilize individuals are senior legal counselors.
“The president is intended to address this however we will be in court on Monday (today); we have individuals who are Senior Advocates and Professors of Law, they will be guarding the association free,” the source said.
Likewise talking with our reporter, the association’s National Vice-President, Dr Chris Piwuna, affirmed that individuals would be in court for the meeting.
“We will be in court tomorrow (Monday) morning. Prior, we met with the Minister of Education however we are geared up for any eventuality. That is the idea of the battle,” he said.
In a different meeting, the executive, ASUU of the Federal University of Minna, Dr Gbolahan Bolarin, said, “We are in receipt of the letter and we will be in court tomorrow (Monday). We are, notwithstanding, stunned at the choice of the Minister of Labor, Chris Ngige.”
Sped up hearing
In the mean time, the Minister of Labor and Employment, Chris Ngige, requested that the court give the case a sped up hearing to finish the strike off rapidly.
The priest, in a court report, stamped HMO/LAB/ISO/15, said, “Considering the way that ASUU individuals have been protesting since February 14, 2022, and have wouldn’t cancel the activity regardless of the fear of same, it would be welcomed with open arms assuming this question is given a sped up hearing to finish the debate.”
SERAP sues Buhari
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project and five college understudies have documented a claim against the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), requesting that the court “proclaim unlawful the refusal by the Federal Government to fulfill ASUU’s needs, which has occasioned the delayed strike and disregarded the understudies’ more right than wrong to quality schooling.”
SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, unveiled this in an explanation on Sunday.
As per the assertion, Ngige and the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), are participated in the suit as litigants.
The suit was documented for SERAP and the understudies by their legal counselor, Tayo Oyetibo (SAN).
The understudies who are co-petitioners in the suit are Dongo Davou; Oyebode Babafemi; Ejie Kemkanma; Peter Aniefiok; and Imam Naziru.
They are supposed to be understudies of Plateau State University, Obafemi Awolowo University, University of Port Harcourt, University of Uyo, and the University of Ibadan, individually.
In the suit checked NICN/ABJ/269/2022 recorded last week at the National Industrial Court, Abuja, SERAP and the understudies are looking for: “a request coordinating President Buhari and Mr Ngige to promptly execute every one of the concurrences with ASUU to end the strike activity and infringement of the understudies’ more right than wrong to quality training.”
As indicated by SERAP and the understudies, “Interruption of classes sabotages both the quality and length of understudies’ schooling. This present circumstance has disturbed existing differences in admittance to college training in the nation, further minimizing financially distraught guardians and understudies.”
