By Adedapo Adesanya
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has suspended its eight-month-old industrial action conditionally.
ASUU commenced the strike on February 14 this year after its dialogue with the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration yielded no immediate solution.
The union decided to suspend the strike during a meeting of its leadership that started on Thursday night and lasted into the early hours of Friday.
The meeting was called by the union to determine its next line of action after its state branches met over the Court of Appeal ruling last week.
The Court of Appeal had ordered ASUU to suspend the strike before its appeal of the ruling ordering lecturers to resume work could be heard.
Members of the union’s National Executive Committee, which comprises the chairmen of the state chapters and members of the national executive, attended the meeting at the ASUU National Secretariat in Abuja.
Last week, the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja granted leave to the union to appeal the decision of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria delivered on September 21.
In a ruling delivered by Justice Hamman Barka on October 7, 2022, and made public on Thursday (yesterday), the court granted ASUU seven days to file its notice of appeal before the National Industrial Court on the condition that the order of the lower court is obeyed immediately.
ASUU had on September 28, 2022, applied to the court to grant it leave to appeal against the interlocutory order of Justice Polycarp Hamman of the National Industrial Court.
ASUU also asked for an order staying the execution of the decision of the National Industrial Court pending the hearing and determination of its appeal.
Modupe Gbadeyanka