Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities have said that they are studying the letter issued by the Federal Government ordering them to reopen schools.
The Vice Chancellors maintained that studying the directive issued would help forestall future strikes after reopening the institutions.
Federal Government in the early hours of Monday, through the National Universities Commission, NUC, ordered vice-chancellors to re-open schools and allow students to resume academic activities.
This directive was made known in a letter signed by the Director, Finance and Accounts of the NUC, Sam Onazi, on behalf of the Executive Secretary of the commission, Professor Abubakar Rasheed.
The Secretary- General of the Committee of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, Prof. Yakubu Aboki Ochefu who responded to the development, said the directive by the federal government was to further communicate court orders to the Vice Chancellors and ask them to comply with a court order issued last Wednesday by the National Industrial Court of Nigeria.
It would be recalled that the National Industrial Court, Abuja Judicial Division on Wednesday 21st September, ordered ASUU which has been on strike since 14th February to reopen schools for academic activities.
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.
Reacting further, Ochefu said, “To forestall future strikes after reopening the institutions, the vice-chancellors are studying the letter from NUC so as not to reopen the schools and still discover that the members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU are still on strike.
“The directive is communicating the court order to the Vice Chancellors and asking them to comply.
” The VCs are studying this given the appeal by ASUU so as not to reopen and find that ASUU is still on strike.” (Nigerian Pilot)
