Why FG may consider litigation option against striking universities lecturers

The labour faceoff between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), may take a turn for the worse, as Government is threatening to drag ASUU to the National Arbitration Panel and even the National Industrial Court if it fails to respond to invitation for negotiation.

ASUU, the umbrella body of university lecturers in both federal and state institutions in Nigeria had on March 9, 2020 declared an indefinite strike over the Federal Government decision to withhold the February salary of their members who refused to enroll on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), adding that they prefer the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS).

Chris Ngige, the Minister of Labour and Employment, said that should the lecturers fail to respond to invitation to return to the roundtable for negotiation, the Federal Government may be forced to drag ASUU before the National Arbitration Panel and even the National Industrial Court.

Ngige who pointed out that he had invited the leadership of the union for a Zoom meeting, but they insisted on meeting him face to face.

According to him, “I invited ASUU for a zoom meeting in compliance with World Health Organisation (WHO) and Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Covid-19 guidelines, but they insisted on meeting me face to face. We have labour laws.”

The leadership of ASUU had however said that negotiations via Zoom will not be able to produce the desired solution to the lingering dispute.

ASUU insists that before it calls off the strike, the federal government must make substantial progress in addressing their key demands which include payment of arrears of earned allowances, revitalization fund, and constituting visitation panels for federal universities.

Ngige while speaking from his hometown Alor in Anambra State warned that if the union refuses to come to the roundtable, the federal government may resort to labour laws to see what could be done.

Emmanuel Nzomiwu, the minister’s media assistant in a statement disclosed that the ASUU strike was all about the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), adding that “any other reason given by ASUU is an alibi.”

Ngige accused the leadership of the union of deceiving the members and not telling them the truth.

“We have a hierarchy of arbitration. There is the National Arbitration Panel. If I am tired, I can refer it to the National Arbitration Panel. If I am tired, I can refer it to the National Industrial Court. The better thing for them is to come and negotiate on firsthand basis where we are not bringing an external arbitrator,” Ngige said.

The former governor of Anambra State said that the federal government had complained that it was losing a lot of money paying lecturers from the Government Integrated Financial Management Information (GFMIS ) platform, which only transmits money for teachers’ salaries to the university system through the Bursar’s office, from where they are paid.

He observed that there were several anomalies with the former system as some of the people on that payment platform are ghost workers, adding that they don’t exist at all but their names exist and they are drawing money from the Federal Government.

The minster further said some times the shortfalls in tax deduction accumulated to over N 800 billion and JTB penalised the federal government for these monies not paid to the state.

He added the federal government from the office of the accountant general of the federation paid over 800 billion to states. He said the government side recommended that ASUU should migrate to the IPPIS while waiting for their researchers to conclude work on UTAS and bring it for integrity test for all parties to agree, but the union refused to return to the roundtable.

He lamented the uncompromising attitude of ASUU in the dispute, stressing that not minding that the strike which commenced on March 9 did not follow due process, he brought the lecturers to a roundtable with the federal ministry of education and accountant general of the federation.

“We had discussions and they now said that some of the agreements we had in Memorandum of Action 2019 were not implemented vigorously and we agreed that they will be paid 25 billion for their earned academic allowances and another N25 billion for revitalization of university system,” he said.