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Akinwande Soji-Ojo
The Federal Government has threatened to sue striking lecturers, who are members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities(ASUU) if they fail to resume as directed by the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN).
Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, stated this while speaking on Channels Television on Friday night.
The minister said he had directed labour controllers to monitor compliance at all tertiary institutions across the states.
He said: “The court says ASUU must obey today (Friday). I have asked labour controllers in the 36 states and the zones to reach out to the universities; number one, to see if the vice chancellors have opened the gates because that is one of the imports of the judgement of the Industrial Court.
“You must open the gates, you must open the classrooms and to see whether those workers, those teachers reported today, Friday and tommrrow, Saturday. My labour controllers will write me a report.
“The Education Ministry through the NUC will also do their bit and we will compare it. By Tuesday, if they have complied with this, first, they will have the right to appeal as the court says.
“If they come back to their classroom, they will have time to attach evidence and do their appeal. My labour controllers will also give me things to support education in the country. If they don’t, go and read that portion of the NICN Act, they will be charged for contempt,” he said.
Meanwhile, ASUU has said it will study the ruling of the Court of Appeal, which ordered its members to return back to work.
The union’s national president, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, stated this on Friday while reacting to the ruling of the appellate court.
“We will review the judgement with our lawyer and we will decide on the next step,” he said.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja, had on Friday, ordered ASUU to call off its eight-month strike.
The court gave the order after dismissing the union’s application for a stay of execution of an earlier ruling of the NICN, directing the university lecturers to resume work.