The Academic Staff Union of Universities has reacted to the ruling of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, which, Wednesday, ordered the lecturers to resume academic activities.
In a chat, late Wednesday, the Chairman of the Obafemi Awolowo University branch of ASUU, Dr. Adeola Egbedokun, described as a waste of time and scarce resources, the idea of using the court to adjudicate on the strike.
ASUU, led by its President, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, had on February 14, embarked on nationwide strike action to press home the demands for improved welfare conditions for its members, adequate funding for universities, and the replacement of the government-introduced payment platform – Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, with the University Transparency and Accountability Solution.
UTAS was designed by ASUU over complaints against the IPPIS of alleged poor standardisation and incompatibility with the university system.
Reacting to the Wednesday court judgment, Dr. Egbedokun said, “Well, the judgment and the resultant reaction from ASUU is an indication that the crises can only be resolved on the negotiation table. Using the court to adjudicate is to waste time and resources that are scarce.