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Tag: ASUU Strike

  • Court Orders Striking Lectures Back to Work

    Court Orders Striking Lectures Back to Work

    Justice Polycarp Hamman of the National Industrial Court (NIC) has ordered striking members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to resume work pending the determination of the suit challenging the industrial action.

    Justice Hamman made the order on Wednesday, while delivering ruling in an interlocutory injunction motion brought by the federal government.

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    The order, according to the judge, was made in line with the provisions of Section 18 of the Trade Dispute Act, that empowers the court to make such order in the interest of the nation.

    Justice Hamman, in arriving at the decision to order the lecturers back to the classroom, held that the students on the other hand have a fundamental right to education.

    ASUU has been on strike since February 14 to protest poor funding of education by the federal government, as well as demand improved welfare conditions amongst others.

    After several failed attempts to get the striking lecturers back to work while negotiations continue, the government opted for the current court action and prayed the court to compel ASUU to end the near seven-month-old strike in the interest of the nation and the Nigerian students who are suffering the most from the strike.

  • ASUU backs NANS protest as police flood Lagos airport

    ASUU backs NANS protest as police flood Lagos airport

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) have backed the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) on its demands before the federal government and its ongoing protest over the lingering ASUU strike.

    National President, ASUU, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, in an interview with newsmen commended the students for fighting for their rights.

    He said, “We commend NANS members for fighting for their rights. It is their right. The pro-chancellors are doing well too. We hope the government will listen to them because they (pro-chancellors) understand what is happening in the Nigerian universities,” he said.

    The ASUU president added that the union will meet with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila on Tuesday.

    The NANS protest comes on the  heels of the ongoing strike by the members of ASUU.

    NANS had hinted on Sunday that it will ground major highways including the Lagos international airports on Monday (today).

    The student body coordinator, Zone D, Adegboye Olatunji, who confirmed the development noted that the Lagos airport would be the first among the airports to be grounded by the students.

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    “The Lagos airport will be grounded on Monday (today). All we want is for the government to answer us. We want an end to the strike,” he stated. Meanwhile, men of the Lagos State Police Command, Lagos Airport Police Command may be spoiling for a showdown as the students ground the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos today (Monday).

    The command’s spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin said, “Speaking from a position of confidence, everything is intact, and there is no threat on the airport or the airspace.

    “However, the protesters who issued the threat are free to come out and see what awaits them. We, however, urge law-abiding Lagosians to go about their lawful duties without fear of intimidation or harassment.”

    The airport police command’s spokesperson, Olayinka Ojelade, also said, “Our men have been on standby since Friday, so nobody is folding arms to watch the students disrupt aviation activities.

    “They can’t enter the airport; they can only block the entrance to the airport. Whoever is travelling will know how to bypass them and enter the airport. No airline is on strike, so, they will attend to their passengers. Nobody can ground flight operations, they have been warned.”

  • ASUU strike: NANS seeks Buhari’s urgent intervention

    ASUU strike: NANS seeks Buhari’s urgent intervention

    The National Association of Nigerian Students has called on the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) to intervene in the lingering strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities to enable students to return to school.

    The newly elected President of NANS, Mr Usman Barambu, made the call at a news conference on Monday in Abuja.

    Barambu described as worrisome the lingering dispute between ASUU and the Federal Government which had lasted for about seven months.

    He noted that the incessant strikes had affected the academic calendar of public owned universities.

    “Also, it has negatively impacted on the future of Nigerian students, as a programme of four years now would last for six years,” he added.

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    Similarly, the chairman, Communiqué Drafting Committee, Mr Usman Ayuba, urged Buhari to bring on board capable hands with experience and capacity to stem the tide of insecurity in the country.

    Ayuba also appealed to the government to proffer workable solutions to address incessant clashes between farmers and herders across the country.

    He called on the Ministry of Education to give priority attention to the sector in terms of budgetary allocation to meet the UNESCO standard and recommendation of setting aside 26 per cent of annual budget to education by developing countries.

    The students also wanted lecturers involved in the business of sex for marks to desist from such nefarious activities, stressing that students would expose anyone found culpable.

    (NAN).