Why ASUU Can’t Be Forced To Call Off Strike, Students Reject Court Order

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News Across Nigeria Wednesday, September 21st, 2022

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – The National Association of Nigerian Students has rejected the court order that directed the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to call off its 7-month strike.

African Examiner recalls that the National Industrial Court of Nigeria had directed ASUU to end its strike.

The body has been on strike since Monday, February 14, 2022 calling on the federal government to grant its demands.

Reacting to the court judgment on Wednesday, September 21, 2022, NANS National Public Relations Officer, Giwa Temitope, in a statement stated that the order betrays equity.

The students argued that the court cannot force their lecturers to call off the strike.

The statement read: “Our attention has been drawn to news of a court judgment mandating the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to call of its 7 month strike. As an association, we feel disturbed to read the news of the judgment because we believe that it betrays equity.

“Ordinarily, the Federal Government is not meant to have dragged ASUU to court. But, the fact that they had to drag ASUU to court is a signal that this government cannot handle crisis. And, we want to state categorically that the court cannot force members of ASUU back to lecture theatres.

“And, as it stands today, with that court judgment, we maintain that the court has not resolved the problem and we reject the judgment in strong terms. The court could have said that the Federal Government should go and pay rather than say that lecturers who are on strike should go back to classrooms. We were expecting the court to have understood that lecturers are on contract of personal service hence, they cannot be compelled to render a service they don’t want to render.”