Federal Govt, ASUU Dispute Over Appeal Court

Federal Govt, ASUU Dispute Over Appeal Court

The Nation has reported on the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU dispute over Appeal Court.

When the federal government took the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to the National Industrial Court (NIC), many doubted its propriety as the quickest and most enduring way to resolve issues to the prolonged strike. For a strike that had grounded academic activities for eight months, a court process was seen as another way of further prolonging a quick closure to the dispute. This is more so given the windows of appeal available to disputants. This fear is being borne out by events.

In a judgment on the federal government’s interlocutory injunction, Justice Polycarp Hamman of the National Industrial Court ordered ASUU to resume classes, restraining it from continuing with the strike until the case is resolved.

Apparently realizing the weaknesses in the court option, Minister of Labour, Chris Ngige was to allege a few days after, that ASUU was in flagrant disregard of the order. He claimed ASUU had neither complied with the order nor filed an appeal. But as Ngige fumed, the deadline for the ASUU to file an appeal or a stay of execution was yet to elapse.

ASUU later filed 14 grounds of appeal against the ruling of the Justice Hamman’s NIC. The case came up last Wednesday with very interesting developments that reinforced the view that court process may not hold the solution to a timely and satisfactory resolution of the prolonged dispute.

A member of the three-member panel, Justice Biobele Georgewill had urged lawyers representing the parties to consider an out-of-court settlement in the interest of the children that have been out of school these past months.

Hear him: “As senior lawyers, for the sake of the children and our lawyers, have a discussion among yourselves; leave the litigants out and agree on a way forward. The nation will appreciate you for it”.

Sadly, when the court resumed the following day, lawyers to both parties informed the court they could not resolve the dispute despite the out-of-court admonition. So the Appeal Court had to proceed with the case. But the court had made a profound statement by seeking for an out-of-court resolution.

The Appeal Court last Friday, ruled on the application for a stay of execution filed by ASUU. While dismissing it, the court ordered the union to call off the strike and resume classes immediately. It also granted the application for leave for ASUU to challenge the interlocutory order by the NIC directing its members to resume work pending the determination of the substantive suit by the federal government.

But the appellate court said that should ASUU fail to re-open the universities, the order to appeal against the interlocutory injunction “will be automatically vacated”. It is not certain how ASUU would handle the development. But a demoralized, hungry and weather-beaten teaching force returning to classes is bound to impact very negatively on effective teaching and learning.

Already, nearly three weeks have been lost between the rulings of the NIC and now. This has increased the number of months the universities have been under lock and key. The court process may drag even longer as the parties seek to exhaust all avenues of redress. Valuable time and resources which would have been channelled to other productive ends would be lost in the process.

That was the scary scenario envisaged by the appellate court that moved it to advise parties to explore the out-of-court settlement option. The court was not unmindful that the lawyers could not resolve the dispute without reference to their principals.

But the court had to issue that admonition to drum the message clearer that more enduring solutions to such issues as increasing government’s investments in university infrastructure, honouring earlier agreements, payment of salaries through UTAS and payment of salaries during the strike are better resolved through negotiations. That was the clear message. Its corollary is that both the government and ASUU should have shown sufficient capacity to resolve the crisis without resort to court process.

The federal government has not shown either capacity or sufficient commitment to the resolution of the crisis. Allowing the strike to drag for nine months without any agreement signed with the union gives it out as one with a hidden agenda. Even the concessions they claimed to have made are still kept under wraps. There is no documented or endorsed evidence by both parties as is usually the case in such negotiations.

All we hear from key government officials is that President Buhari warned them not to sign any agreement. How do you want to earn the confidence of the ASUU with morbid fear to commit to agreements? Having lost these months to the strike, there ought to have been genuine concessions from both sides.

Rather, the government has been busy inventing strategies and measures to weaken ASUU and force them back to classes. Its hurried order to vice chancellors of the universities to re-open immediately after the NIC rulings which it later withdrew was an act of bad faith.

The government did not give any reason for the withdrawal of that order. But it may have been informed by the fact that the window to appeal for ASUU was still wide open. Why the haste to ambush?

As if that is not enough to raise serious suspicion, the same government has also gone ahead to license and accord recognition to two other university unions- the Congress of Nigerian University Academics (CONUA) and National Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA). The motive is clear- to break the ranks of ASUU.

But as the government was unfolding these divisive measures, the House of Representatives was at another level negotiating with the parties to find amicable resolution to the issues. The house leadership has presented its recommendations to President Buhari. Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila gave hope when he said the dispute will soon be resolved as both parties have shifted grounds.

The Gbajabiamila report presents yet another window for out-of-court settlement if President Buhari is committed to retrieving the education system from the abyss into which it is irretrievably headed. We can do without this litigation.

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Eyo Nse is a creative writer, blogger and a software engineer.He is a simple individual who loves to see others succeed in life.Mr Wisdytech as he is popularly known - started blogging in the early 2000's.