By Enyichukwu Enemanna
The Nigerian Government has ordered Vice Chancellors of universities to immediately resume academic activities and allow students go back to their classrooms.
The umbrella body of university lecturers in Nigeria, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has been on strike for about seven months, demanding the funding of the Revitalisation of Public Universities, Payment of Earned Academic Allowances, use of University Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS) as a payment platform for lecturers to enhance the autonomy of the universities instead of Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System, IPPIS.
Several efforts to amicably resolve the circumstances that led to the industrial action have been unproductive as the public universities have remained under lock and key in the past seven months.
The Federal Government in its latest move to ensure that students return to school on Monday through the National Universities Commission, NUC ordered vice-chancellors to re-open schools and allow students resume lectures.
In a letter signed by the Director, Finance and Accounts of the NUC, Sam Onazi, on behalf of the Executive Secretary of the commission, Professor Abubakar Rasheed, FG instructed all vice-chancellors; Pro-Chancellors and chairmen of governing councils of federal universities to re-open schools.
“Ensure that ASUU members immediately resume/commence lectures; Restore the daily activities and routines of the various University campuses”, part of the letter read.
Others demands of the ASUU include the renegotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FG Agreement and the inconsistency in payment platforms.
Recall that the federal government had gone to court to challenge the action of ASUU.
Last week the national industrial court through Polycarp Hamman, the judge in the NIC, granted the federal government’s application for an interlocutory injunction to restrain ASUU from continuing with the strike.
The lecturers instead filed an appeal, challenging the Industrial Court’s order.
