The Federal Government has ordered the Vice-Chancellors of universities to re-open schools and allow students to resume lectures.
The directive was given in a letter signed by the Director, Finance and Accounts of the National Universities Commission, NUC, Sam Onazi, on behalf of the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Professor Abubakar Rasheed.
It would be recalled that the Academic Staff Union of Universities has been on strike for about seven months now.
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 and made available to journalists on Monday, the federal government 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”, the letter partly reads.
Meanwhile, the association is demanding from FG the funding of the Revitalisation of Public Universities, Earned Academic Allowances, University Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS) and promotion arrears.
Others are the renegotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FG Agreement and the inconsistency in Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System.
Reacall, the federal government went to court to challenge the action of the association.
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 outcome of the judgement was questioned by Femi Falana, human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), who stated that the National Industrial Court does not have jurisdiction to rule on the case between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
ASUU has therefore vowed to challenge the judgment and appeal before court later this week .