ASUU Strike: APC NWC member commends Industrial Court

A member of the All Progressives Congress, ( APC) National Working Committee, (NWC), Salihu Lukman, has commended the National Industrial Court over its pronouncement on the intractable face-off between the federal government and university lecturers in the country.

Ruling on the seven-month strike by the lecturers, Justice Polycarp Hamman
ordered the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to suspend its seven-month-old strike.

Justice Hamman in his ruling on Wednesday ordered the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to suspend its seven-month-old strike.

The judge gave the order while ruling on the federal government’s application for an interlocutory injunction against the ongoing ASUU strike.

The federal government’s counsel, James Igwe, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), had filed the application seeking the court’s order restraining ASUU from continuing with the strike pending the determination of the suit initiated through a referral by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige.

Lukman who incidentally is the national vice-chairman, North West of the APC said the judgment was a welcome development as it would go a long way to mitigate the suffering of Nigerian students facing frustration as a result of the action of the university lecturers.

In his statement titled, “National Industrial Court Judgement on ASUU Strike: Better Late than Never, the former Director General of the Forum of APC Governors accused the Ministry of Labour of abdicating its responsibility as he noted that the Ministry failed to seize the initiative of approaching the Industrial Court, seven months ago to stop ASUU from taking the strike option.

He said:”Imagine that processes of mediation, conciliation and compulsory adjudication by Ministry of Labour as provided under the Trade Dispute Act immediately ASUU served notice of strike.

Certainly, a judgement by either Industrial Arbitration Panel (IAP) or NIC would have been obtained before the commencement of the strike. Sadly, here we are, the same judgement that would have been delivered before the strike commences on February 14 is only obtained about seven months into the strike.

“Better late than never. However, the demand must be made clearly, never again should the Ministry of Labour abdicate from its responsibility of arresting strikes based on the ability to activate processes of mediation, conciliation and compulsory adjudication.

The Ministry of Labour must be reformed to discharge these functions effectively and efficiently.

Democracy is about to rule of law. At all times, laws must be activated to regulate the conduct of citizens and government officials. Every step must be taken to enforce the judgement of Justice Polycap Hamman.

The last seven months have been traumatic for parents and innocent students. Everything must be done to bring to an immediate end the sufferings and hardships being inflicted by the seven months strike.”

On whether the striking lecturers deserved to be paid before resumption, the APC chieftain declared that the debate was unnecessary.

He called on the government to “compute what ASUU members could have earned during the period and pay it to students as scholarship or some sorts of compensation for the ‘irreparable damages to their careers’ occasioned by the strike.”

“The debate about whether the government should pay ASUU members for the seven months they are on strike should be treated based on the provisions of their employment contract. Anything to the contrary will amount to encouraging ASUU, and by extension other unions to engage in processes of collective bargaining based on blackmail antics and show of crude power.

This must be discouraged. If the government will at all consider any payment, it should be to compute what ASUU members could have earned during the period and pay it to students as a scholarship or some sort of compensation for the ‘irreparable damages to their careers’ occasioned by the strike. In fact, ASUU members should voluntarily and willingly accept this as part of the discharge of their community service function.”

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