The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, has described the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) as dishonest while stating that they are misleading Nigerians.
The Minister also warned the Union against disobeying the court’s order on its eight-month strike.
Recall that Justice Polycarp Hamman of the National Industrial Court had last month ordered the varsity lecturers to suspend their and return to classrooms.
ASUU has since appealed the judgement.
The Federal Government later directed the Vice-Chancellors and Pro-Chancellors of universities to reopen the institutions in a bid to force the varsity lecturers to return to work but immediately withdrew the directive.
In a statement issued on Sunday by the ministry’s Deputy Director Press and Public Relations, Olajide Oshundun, the minister called on the union to respect the court’s order and return to classrooms while negotiations are concluded on other contentious issues.
Ngige said: “The union is dishonest and misleading its members and the general public, that it has filed an appeal as well as a stay of execution of the order of National Industrial Court on September 21, 2022, though it has none of this.
“Rather, ASUU only filed an application for permission to appeal the order. It also attached to the application, a proposed notice of appeal which it intends to file if the leave to appeal is granted. The application for a stay of execution as of this moment has not even been listed for hearing. Where is ASUU coming from?
“It is therefore contemptuous, dishonest and misleading for the union to tell its members that it has not only appealed the interlocutory injunction by the National Industrial Court, directing it to call off the strike and return to work but that it also has a stay of execution.”
