This was stated in a letter signed on Monday in Abuja by the Director, Finance and Accounts of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Mr. Sam Onazi, on behalf of the commission’s Executive Secretary, Prof. Abubakar Rasheed.
The letter, addressed to all vice-chancellors, Pro-Chancellors, and chairmen of federal university governing councils, urged them to reopen the universities.
The directive comes seven months after members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) went on strike over poor welfare packages and unpaid entitlements at the country’s public universities.
The National Industrial Court (NIC) in Abuja ordered the lecturers to end their seven-month strike and return to the classrooms last week, but ASUU has since filed an appeal against the ruling.
Femi Falana, ASUU’s counsel, based the appeal on 14 grounds.
The motion seeks two types of relief:
- The leave to file the appeal pursuant to Section 243 of the Constitution, which requires the party to seek leave of court to appeal the National Industrial Court’s (NIC) judgment or ruling.
- Requesting a stay of execution of the court’s orders pending the hearing and determination of the appeal.