Modupe Gbadeyanka
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The suit filed before the National Industrial Court (NIC) sitting in Abuja by the federal government against the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has been adjourned to Friday, September 16, 2022.
The government is seeking an order from the court to call off the 7-month-old industrial action embarked on by the university lecturers since February 14, 2022.
Justice Polycarp Hamman, while ruling on the matter, asked the claimant, represented by Mr Tijani Gazali, to serve its process, and the defendant, represented by Mr Femi Falana, to file its response before the adjourned date.
When the case came up before the judge, Mr Gazali rejected the extant suit filed by the counsel to the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), which asked to be joined in the matter as an interested party.
SERAP, through its counsel, Mr Ebun Adegoruwa, said it has already filed a suit on the same subject matter before the same court, but Mr Gazali objected, stressing that the application was premature.
Mr Falana then informed the judge that he needed time to go through the papers filed by the two counsels and appealed to the court to step down the matter for more time to respond to them.
His request was granted by Justice Hamman.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Mr Chris Ngige, filed the suit on behalf of the federal government. He wants the lecturers back to classes while negotiations on the impasse between the government and ASUU continue.
