BREAKING: ASUU branches begin traditional voting today
Branches of the Academic Staff Union of Universities will begin their customary vote today (Tuesday) and tomorrow (Wednesday) about the union’s ongoing strike.
The National Executive Council will receive the various branches’ decisions for final decision-making.
This information was provided to the PUNCH correspondent in Abuja by a highly-placed source within the NEC on Tuesday.
“We got the directive after the meeting with the speaker yesterday(Monday). The intervention was timely. Branches will vote between today and tomorrow after which the decisions will be convened to the NEC,” the source said.
The new development follows a meeting with Femi Gbajabiamila, speaker of the House of Representatives, who organized many talks between the union and the Federal Government side.
The strike would end in a few days, according to Femi Gbajabiamila, SAN, the lead attorney for ASUU, who also stated this to The PUNCH.
The government’s inability to satisfy ASUU’s unmet requests, according to the union, prompted the union to go on strike on Monday, February 14, 2022.
After “failed negotiations,” the minister of labor and employment Chris Ngige hauled the lecturers on strike to the National Industrial Court.
On September 21, the National Industrial Court ordered ASUU to end the strike.
The federal government’s request on notice was granted by the court, ordering the lecturers back into the classrooms.
In his decision on the interlocutory injunction, trial judge Polycarp Hamman prohibited ASUU from carrying out the industrial action until the outcome of the lawsuit brought by the federal government against ASUU.
Unhappy with the decision, the union went to the appeals court to challenge it.
Additionally, a request for a stay of the Industrial Court’s judgment was made.
The Court of Appeal ordered the striking lecturers to “immediately” call off the eight months strike, having struck out ASUU’s application for a stay of execution of the lower court’s order.
It said it was within ASUU’s right to appeal the decision of the industrial court.
Agreeing with the federal government’s argument that ASUU cannot approach the appellate court with “dirty hands”, the panel held, “should the applicant fail to obey the order (of the lower court), the leave granted shall be automatically vacated.