The Court of Appeal in Abuja, on Friday, ordered the Academic Staff Union of Universities to call off its strike.
It gave the order after dismissing the union’s application for a stay of execution of an earlier ruling of the National Industrial Court directing the university lecturers to resume work.
The Federal Government has also threatened to sue the striking lecturers, who are members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities if they fail to resume as ruled by the NIC.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, who issued this threat on Friday during an interview monitored on Channel TV, disclosed that he had directed labor controllers to monitor compliance at all tertiary institutions across the states.
He said, “The court says ASUU must obey today (Friday). I have asked labor controllers in the 36 states and the zones to reach out to the universities; number one, to see if the vice-chancellors have opened the gates because that is one of the imports of the judgment of the Industrial Court.
“You must open the gates, you must open the classrooms and see whether those workers, those teachers reported today, tomorrow Friday and Saturday. My labor controllers will write me a report.”
Meanwhile, the ASUU has said it will study the ruling of the appeal court which ordered its members to return to work.
The union’s national president, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke reacted on behalf of the union.
Osodeke said, “We will review the judgment with our lawyer and we will decide on the next step.”
