By Ngozi Nwankwo
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 to study the directive issued would help forestall future strike after reopening the institutions.
Federal Government has on the early hours of Monday, through the National Universities Commission, NUC, ordered vice-chancellors to re-open schools and allow students 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 on the development, said the directive by the federal government was to further communicate court order to the Vice Chancellors and asking them to comply to comply to 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 21th September, ordered ASUU that 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, “In order to forestall future strike after reopening the institutions, the vice chancellors are studying the letter from NUC so as not reopen the schools and still discover that the members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU are still on strike.
“The directive is basically communicating the court order to the Vice Chancellors and asking them to comply.
” The VC’s are studying this in view of the appeal by ASUU so as not to reopen and find that ASUU is still on strike.”
