Latest ASUU News On Resumption, ASUU Strike Update Today, 22nd September 2022

Latest ASUU News On Resumption, ASUU Strike Update Today, 22nd September 2022

Flippstack has compiled the Latest ASUU news on the current strike embarked on by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU),  a Nigerian union of university academic staff. Latest ASUU News On Resumption 22nd September 2022

This means the latest asuu strike news, asuu strike update today, asuu news, asuu latest strike news, asuu latest news on resumption, asuu strike update, and all asuu news stories compiled by Flippstack can be accessed on this page

Below is the latest Asuu strike update, asuu latest news on resumption and ASUU strike news today, Thursday, 22nd September 2022

Latest ASUU News On Resumption 22nd September 2022

ASUU Strike: FG To Order Re-Opening Of Universities By Vice Chancellors

The federal government has revealed plans to order Vice Chancellors to re-open public universities in the wake of the court order mandating the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to suspend its strike action.

The plan was made known on Wednesday by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige.

The Court Order

The National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) on Wednesday, September 21, ruled that the ASUU strike be put on hold and all public universities be re-opened while the lecturers return to their duty posts after seven months of shutting down the learning institutions.

The NICN directive was coming following a petition before the court by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, on behalf of the federal government.

Recall that students of public universities across the country have been at home since February 14, 2022.

Public Universities To Be Re-opened

Ngige, speaking on Wednesday during a meeting in Abuja with members of the Nigerian Association of Medical and Dental Academics who paid him a courtesy visit in his office, said Vice Chancellors will be directed to re-open the universities based on the court order.

In his words, “ASUU should also know that this is a step in the right direction. And all these things have been promised to them by the Minister of Education at their last meeting with him. For me, they should do the needful and get back to the classroom.

“The government would order the vice-chancellors to reopen the universities in compliance with the order of the court.”

Negotiations Continue

The Minister added that negotiations with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) would continue despite the court order directing the striking lecturers to resume work.

ASUU Reacts To Court Ruling Ordering Lecturers Back To Class

The legal representative for the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has said it will take appropriate action after studying the ruling of the National Industrial Court, which ordered the reopening of all public universities after seven months of closure.

A vacation Judge, Justice Polycarp Hamman, on Wednesday, ordered the varsity staff union to call off its nationwide industrial strike after disagreeing with ASUU’s lawyer, Femi Falana, that FG’s claim on the damage to students’ educational future was based on hearsay.

The Justice subsequently restrained the union from the industrial action pending the determination of the main case bordering on the terms of the agreement between the two parties ( FG and ASUU).

Speaking to newsmen, Falana, who was represented in court by Dr. Odorche Edor, said ASUU’s legal team will adopt its next line of action after going through the ruling.

“The court has ruled that members of ASUU are restrained from continuing the strike action and that they should return back to the classroom pending the determination of the substantive suit.

“As per the next action, there are quite a number of options open to the union, we will study the ruling with the legal team and then we will adopt the most appropriate option,” he said.

Meanwhile, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has rejected the court judgement that mandated the Academic Staff Union of Universities to call off its ongoing industrial action.

Reacting to the court ruling in a statement, NANS Spokesperson, Temitope Giwa, said the judgement goes against equity and fairness.

He said that rather than direct ASUU to return to the classroom, the court should have ordered the Federal Government to meet the demands of the striking lecturers.

Giwa pointed out that the moment the government took ASUU to court shows that it cannot handle a crisis, adding that the court cannot force members of ASUU to return to work.

ASUU Resumption directive: Stop Deceiving Students, ASUU Mocks Varsities

The Academic Staff Union of Universities on Monday dismissed resumption notices by University authorities directing students to appear for lectures amidst the seven months old strike.

The union said its strike remain unshakeable as those institutions were still under lock and key.

The Vice President of ASUU and its former branch chairman at the University of Jos, Dr Chris Piwuna, said these in an interview with The PUNCH.

He was reacting to the announcement by the Public Relations Officer of Imo State University, Owerri, Ralph Njoku, that it had pulled out of the ASUU nationwide strike and consequently asked its students and staff members to resume school on Tuesday, September 20.

According to him, IMSU had decided to pull out of the lingering strike in the interest of the students and staff of the institution.

“Yes. It is true. We have asked students to resume immediately. Lectures start on Tuesday. We are doing this in the best interest of our students and staff. We are not only pulling out of the ASUU strike but also asking everyone to return to school”, he said.

But Piwuna mocked the Universities saying ASUU would remain unshaken.

He said, “I don’t know why these people will never learn their lesson. Is the PRO of the University a member of our union? Does he have the mandate to speak for our members? Did we consult with him or his VC (Vice Chancellor) before we embarked on the action? They are incurable interlopers.

“Let us hear from our branch chairperson. Let them not waste the time of our students and parents.

“They said the same thing about Gombe State University, Yobe State University, Kaduna State University, and the rest. Those institutions are still under lock and key. Our strike is unshakeable.

“Our members remain resilient and single-minded about our overall goal to rescue our public Universities from the clutches of the neo-liberal, neo-colonialist.”

NANS Fixes Date To Shut Down Airports Over ASUU Strike

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has announced its intention to shut down all international airports due to the ongoing ASUU strike.

Flippstack reports that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on February 14, 2022, embarked on a seven-month-old strike over some demands.

Some of the union’s demands include the release of revitalisation funds for universities, payment of lecturers’ earned allowances, deployment of the University Transparency Accountability System as the payment platform for university lecturers, and renegotiation of the ASUU-FG 2009 agreement among others.

Expressing its disappointment over the failure of the Federal Government to meet the demand of ASUU on Saturday, the body threatened to shut down all international airports starting from September 19.

The association made the announcement via a statement issued by the chairman NANS national task force on “End ASUU Strike Now”, Ojo Raymond Olumide.

The statement reads: “The four-day shutdown of busy highways and expressways had been a success, hence the move to disrupt international travels in order for the bourgeois and the government to feel the pains that had subjected students to in the past seven months.

“We shall begin another round of protest next week by storming the airspaces on Monday, 19th September 2022 to #OccupyTheAirports. We want to let the world know about the pains and anguish students are going through.”

Speaking further Olumide stated that they would no longer beg FG to meet ASUU’s demands, adding that students and lecturers cannot continue to suffer while politicians send their family members to foreign universities.

The group called on Nigerian students and ASUU to join them in their resolve to shout down Nigerian airports.

“We call on students to rise and join us as we take our destinies into our hands. Our demands remain consistently clear and simple. We call on ASUU leadership for a meeting as soon as possible to discuss solidarity actions and plan for the next phase of the struggles,” he added.

Gbajabiamila To Meet ASUU On Tuesday Over Strike

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has scheduled a meeting with the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) over the lingering strike.

The Speaker made the notice of the meeting known in a letter signed by the Clerk of the House, Yahaya Danzarta, and addressed to the president of ASUU, Emmanuel Osodeke.

The statement revealed that the meeting with the union will hold on Tuesday, September 20 and will take place at the office of the Speaker.

Gbajabiamila said the purpose of the meeting is to find a lasting solution to the lingering ASUU strike, which has kept students at home for seven months.

The speaker said the Green chamber is concerned over the failed negotiations between the Federal Government and the union and worried about the negative consequences of the strike on Nigerian youths.

He, therefore, asked ASUU to submit a written presentation of its perspective on the matter to the House before the day of the meeting.

The letter dated September 15 partly reads, “The Hon. Speaker House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila hereby invites you to a stakeholder meeting towards finding a lasting solution to the lingering strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities since February 2022.

“The House of Representatives is deeply concerned about the renewed strike which seems to have defied all efforts made to find a solution or reach an agreement between the Federal Government and the striking university lecturers.

“The House is more worried by the negative consequences of the strike on the future and quality of education of our teeming youths who have been kept at home for the past six months despite the intervention of the House and several well-meaning Nigerians over time to see that the matter was resolved.

“In the light of the foregoing, the House hereby requests for another opportunity to come together with stakeholders and leadership of ASUU to seek an amicable resolution without prejudice to the fact that the matter is already in the Industrial Court.”

FG Vs ASUU: Court Fails To Hear Case, Fixes New Date

The National Industrial Court sitting in Abuja has again adjourned a suit against the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) instituted by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige.

The Federal government on Friday dragged the university lecturers to the Industrial Court over the lingering strike by their union which has kept students at home for nearly seven months.

The Federal Government in its suit asked the court to order ASUU to call off its seven months strike.

The court adjourned the suit till Monday, September 19 for hearing the interlocutory application of the Federal Government.

The court presided by judge, Justice Polycap Hammanhe earlier on September 12, adjourned the suit till September 16th (today) to give the FG and ASUU ample time to file all necessary documents pertaining to the suit.

At the resumed court sitting today, counsel to the FG, James Igwe, requested that the suit be given an accelerated hearing due to the urgency of the matter.

He added that since the matter was already in court, the union ought to call off the strike pending a ruling by the judge.

ASUU Speaks On Calling Off Strike With FG’s Instant Signature

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has said it would not take more than 24 hours for the federal government to sign to their latest minimum demand and the lingering strike would be called off.

ASUU president, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, revealed this while speaking during the National Town Hall Meeting on Tertiary Education tagged: ‘The Locked Gates of our Citadels – A National Emergency’ held in Abuja today, Naija News reports.

According to Osodoke, the association has negotiated and agreed that the federal government should sign to its recent resolve and the seven-month-old strike would end.

Osodeke stressed that ASUU is more than willing to reopen schools.

He, however, said this could only be achieved if concrete agreements were reached with the Federal Government.

He said: “On all these issues, we have given the government a minimum that we can accept, but they have not responded on the issue of revitalization, on the issue of earned allowance and on issues that we have all discussed.

”We negotiated and agreed that they should sign and this is very simple, not more than one day.

”On UTAS and IPPIS, we say release the report of the test you did and let’s look at the one who came first and take it as we agreed.

”So we have given them the minimum we want and we have to come down and they can do it in one day if there is a will,” Osodeke reiterated.

He furthered his argument by saying if the government loves the country, the students and their parents, they should immediately come to the table with the union to resolve the lingering issues in one day, which he considered as simple.

“Just as we did in 2014, they should come and ensure that we do that, we can even have the meeting openly so that Nigeria will see what we are discussing,” Osodeke said. Latest ASUU News On Resumption 22nd September 2022

ASUU Strike: FG Says NANS Blockage Of Lagos-Ibadan Expressway Illegal

The federal government has said students who blocked a busy section of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway to protest the lingering strike of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) that has lasted for more than six months were ”violating” the law.

The minister of works and housing, Babatunde Fashola said this while briefing State House correspondents shortly after this week’s Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Wednesday.

According to Fashola, the Nigerian constitution, even though recognises and protects the citizens’ right to public protests does not empower any Nigerian to “inflict pain and inconvenience on other people.”

Recall that Students under the aegis of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS)  took to the streets on Tuesday, in protest of the strike and blocked the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Shagamu Interchange.

Students were seen raising placards and chanting solidarity songs as they lamented the now seven-month-old strike of the Academic Staff Union of Universities.

But fielding a question on the recurrent gridlock on the uncompleted sections of the highway, Fashola appealed for more patience from Nigerians saying that there was no alternative route in the already built-up areas.

He said,“I also heard that some aggrieved students under the aegis of NANS are going to the road to protest. My respectful view is that it is not helpful at all to the citizens.

“The right to protest is a very well-protected right in our Constitution, but it does not include the right to inflict pain and inconvenience on other people. And so, whilst the protests can go on, they should refrain from blocking the road in order to do their protests. That in itself is a violation of law.”

ASUU strike: NANS protests, grounds Lagos-Ibadan Expressway

FG Vs ASUU: Court Adjourns Case Till September 16

The National Industrial Court of Nigeria has adjourned to September the 16th, 2022 the suit filed by the Federal Government against the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) over the industrial action embarked upon by the union about seven months ago.

The Federal Government approached the court sitting in Abuja, requesting an order for ASUU to resume it continues to engage the union to address their dispute.

A statement by the Head, Press and Public Relations at the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Olajide Oshundun, indicated that the matter was referred to the registrar of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria by the Minister, Chris Ngige on Thursday 8 September.

At Monday’s proceedings, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) sought to join the suit as an interested party.

SERAP’s lawyer, Ebun-Olu Adegnoruwa (SAN) said his client had filed a similar suit to compel the Federal Government to honour its 2009 agreement with the striking lecturers.

He said SERAP’s request to join in the matter is based on the need to forestall the duplicity of outcomes concerning the industrial dispute. However, counsel to the Federal Government, Tijjani Gazali (SAN) opposes SERAP’s application to consolidate the suits.

He told the judge that SERAP’s application was premature as the case was billed for mention on Monday. Counsel to ASUU, Femi Falana, however, argued that he was aware of the efforts by lawyers to file court papers in the suit on Monday.

The judge ruled that the suit is not ripe for consolidation by SERAP. The judge said he was only presiding over the matter as a vacation judge and that the case would be assigned to another judge for adjudication.

He ordered the parties in the suit to file and exchange court documents as he adjourned the matter to Friday, 16 September 2022. Latest ASUU News On Resumption 22nd September 2022

ASUU Strike: UNIBEN Staff Commits Suicide

A member of staff of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), Prince Carter Oshodin, on Friday committed suicide over his dire financial situation.

The deceased, who was a data entry personnel at the university, had not been paid his salary for months due to the strike action embarked by university unions.

According to Punch, the Non-Academic staff Union, to which Oshodin belonged, had called off its strike recently, but the members had yet to be paid their salaries.

A professor at the University, who would not want his name mentioned due to the emotional nature of the case, lamented the disheartening situation of striking lecturers since its union began the industrial action.

He also wondered why those who called off their strike are still not been paid by the government.

He said; “Yes, he is our staff that killed himself due to lack of money. Even some months ago, he was quoted to have been advising people on coping strategies and yet he took his life which has put his family in a bigger problem.

We have been no dime since we went on strike. This is the 10th of September, and the non-academic staff that has since resumed have not been paid anything. Boko Haram! No to Western Education.”

Another colleague simply known Edwards said the deceased on his Facebook lamented that he could not meet his financial needs and was finding it increasingly difficult to pay his two daughters’ school fees!

ASUU: FG Drags Striking Lecturers To Court

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had been dragged to the Industrial Court by the Federal government over its lingering strike action which has kept students at home for nearly seven months.

Flippstack understands that ASUU has been on strike since February 14th of 2022 to press home its numerous demands to the Federal Government, which include payment of earned allowances and salaries for lecturers, improved funding and maintenance for tertiary institutions, the adoption of the University Transparency and Accountability system (UTAS) for salary payment instead of the government’s Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), the renegotiation of the ASUU FG 2009 agreement, among others.

However, several negotiations between the union and the government have ended in deadlock.

Sources at the federal ministry of Labour told ThisDay on Friday that the ministry’s Trade Dispute Department had filed a case before the Industrial Arbitration Court in Abuja and that the hearing would commence next Monday.

According to the source, “The federal government has filed a case at the Industrial Court challenging the continued strike by the university teachers. This conforms with Section 17 of the Trade Dispute Act.”

Talks between the federal government and ASUU finally hit the rocks last Tuesday after both sides met at the National University Commission’s office in Abuja.

The federal government had said that it would not sign any other agreement it cannot implement.

Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, made this known meeting of Pro-Chancellors and Vice Chancellors of Federal Universities, held at the NUC’s office.

ASUU Strike: FG Tells Nigerian Students To Apply For Scholarships Abroad

In the face of the prolonged strike action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the Federal Government through the National Universities Commission (NUC) has admonished qualified Nigerians to apply for scholarships abroad.

Public universities across the country have been closed for seven months now as a result of unsettled disputes between the government and lecturers over some demands of the lecturers.

While the strike lingers, a letter signed by the Deputy Executive Secretary, Administration of the NUC, Chris Maiyaki, and addressed to all vice-chancellors, admonished qualified students to embrace an initiative of the government of the United Kingdom to study abroad.

The letter explained that the British High Commission announced the call for applications for the scholarships to study in the UK, which opened on 2nd August 2022 and closes on 1 November 2022.

The scholarships according to the letter, are fully funded to individuals from any background who demonstrate the requisite skills and commitment necessary to bring about positive change.

Maiyaki urged the Vice-Chancellors to as a matter of urgency ensure the wide circulation of the scholarships application in their various universities.

Interested individuals are expected to submit their applications via the official website only. Latest ASUU News On Resumption 22nd September 2022

ASUU Strike: FG Insists On No-Work-No-Pay

The Federal Government on Saturday insisted on no-work-no-pay following the lingering industrial action of the Academic Staff Union Universities (ASUU).

The Minister of State for Education, Goodluck Nanah Opiah claimed that the strike has caused more pain for parents and students.

According to Opiah, President Muhammadu Buhari has done a lot to resolve the strike.

Opiah while speaking at the Federal University Lokoja, Kogi State, said Buhari has done so much on infrastructural development in all higher institutions in Nigeria.

The minister said, “The Federal Government cannot pay lecturers for what they did not work for. The strike has continued to portray the country in a bad light and has succeeded in causing more pain for parents and students.

“The Federal Government led by President Muhammadu Buhari has done so much, especially in infrastructural development in our tertiary institution. Because anywhere you go, you will see the presence of TETFUND, buildings, vehicles, and all manners of institutional assets.

“Those who think that lack of infrastructure is one of the reasons they went on strike should think again. Mr. Vice Chancellor, let me use this opportunity to appeal to you, to also appeal to our lecturers to come back to work because our children are suffering.

“Our country’s image is going lower. Our parents are not happy, and these lecturers are also parents of some of our students. Contrary to what they think, some of us also have our Children in Nigeria Universities and they are also suffering.

“Although, if we stay on strike forever, it means our Children will be out of School forever. It is not in our interest. There is nothing that has gone wrong that we cannot get corrected through dialogue. I know that almost everything that ASUU brought forth for discussion between the Federal Government has been resolved.

“Except that, now that ASUU wants to be paid for all the six months that they were absent from duty. And the Federal Government is saying no we cannot pay for those days you did not work. For once, let us activate the principle of no work no natural pay. It is only a thief that goes to eat where he didn’t work.

“And so if there should be any appeal for Federal Government to do otherwise, Lecturers should come back to the classroom to beg and appeal and renegotiate because this thing is no longer funny”.