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The branches of the Academic Staff Union of Universities( ASUU) will commence traditional voting on Tuesday and Wednesday over the union’s ongoing strike.
The decision of the various branches will be transmitted to the National Executive Council(NEC) for final decision.
The development follows the meeting the national leadership of the union had with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, on Monday .
The Speaker had held several meetings with the union and the Federal Government’s representatives.
Lead counsel to ASUU, Femi Falana (SAN) had also disclosed that the strike would be over in a few days.
ASUU had on February 14, 2022 embarked on a warning strike over what the union described as the failure of the government to meet lingering demands of the union.The union has since made the strike indefinite.
Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, after what he described as “failed negotiations” dragged the striking lecturers to the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN).
On September 21, the NICN ordered ASUU to call off the strike.
The court granted the motion on notice filed by the Federal Government, directing the lecturers to return to classrooms.
Ruling on the interlocutory injunction, Justice Polycarp Hamman, restrained ASUU from continuing with the industrial action pending the determination of the suit filed against ASUU by the Federal Government.
Displeased by the ruling, the union headed to the Court of Appeal. It also filed a stay of execution of the ruling of the industrial court.
However, 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 of justices held that “should the applicant fail to obey the order the court, the leave granted shall be automatically vacated.”