The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) says it is waiting for its lawyers for professional advice, following the court order by the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) barring it from continuing with strike.
The President of the Union, Mr Emmanuel Osodeke, made this known in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday.
The National Industrial Court had ordered the ASUU to call off the ongoing nationwide strike.
Delivering a ruling on the interlocutory injunction filed by the Federal government , Justice Polycarp Hamman restrained ASUU from continuing with the industrial action pending the determination of the suit.
Recall that on February 14, ASUU embarked on a four-week warning strike to protest the non-implementation of its demands by the federal government.
On March 14, the union extended the industrial action by another two months to allow the government meet all of its demands.
On May 9, a 12-week extension was announced.
The union has vowed to persist until its demands are met. ASUU has been on strike with another 4-week extension announced on August 1.
ASUU’s demands
The union is seeking improved welfare, revitalisation of public universities and academic autonomy among other demands.
One main issue for the union is the non-payment of university revitalisation funds, which amounts to about N1.1 trillion, an agreement that was struck in 2009.
The Federal Government on its part said it doesn’t have the money to pay such an amount and that it will not borrow to meet ASUU’s demands.
Ifunanya Ikueze is an Engineer, Safety Professional, Writer, Investor, Entrepreneur and Educator.
We will wait