Strike: Federal Govt, ASUU Fail To Reach Out-of-court Settlement

The lawyers for the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities, on Thursday, told the Court of Appeal that both parties could not resolve the eight months old strike, despite the out-of-court settlement as advised by the Appellate Court.

The FG’s lawyer, James Igwe, and lead counsel for ASUU, Femi Falana (SAN), told the Court of Appeal that despite the admonition, they could not resolve the dispute.

The presiding judge, Justice Hamma Barka, thereafter, stepped down the matter for an hour to enable the counsel for ASUU, Falana, to file a reply to the counter affidavit deposed to by the FG in opposition to the hearing of the appeal.

At the resumption of the hearing, Falana said they had begun consultations which would continue at the end of the day’s proceedings. He suggested that their application challenging the ruling of the Industrial Court be heard by the three-man panel of the Appeal Court.

Both parties agreed that the court should hear the application, as there was no amicable resolution reached as advised by the court.