Headlines
FG Declares ASUU Strike Illegal, Says Lecturers on AWOL
The Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities on Wednesday traded blame over the four-week strike which the union began on Monday.
The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, in an interview with State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja said the demands of the union were being renegotiated.
He said he was therefore surprised when he learnt about the strike, adding that the industrial action was not government’s fault.
But the President of ASUU, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, faulted Adamu, insisting that the union visited the minister on Thursday last week and told him what would likely happen.
According to him, the minister did not mention the issue of negotiations when the union visited him.
Adamu, however, insisted that after several negotiations between ASUU and government, both parties had not reached a truce.
He stated, “ASUU, unfortunately, has gone on strike and I am looking for their leaders because all the issues are being addressed.
“The last thing that happened was that our committee looked at their demands but there are renegotiations going on. They submitted a draft agreement which the ministry is looking at.”
The minister said ASUU’s decision came abruptly amidst ongoing negotiations.
Speaking on ASUU’s draft agreement, he said, “A committee is looking at it. Immediately it finishes, the government is meant to announce what it had accepted. Then suddenly, I heard them going on strike.”
On allegations from ASUU about his absence from meetings, he said “ASUU will never say that. I always summon the meeting myself. The meetings I didn’t attend were those that happened when I was in hospital in Germany.
“We want a peaceful resolution. The Federal Government is ready to meet them on all issues they have raised and if there are so many meetings and the gap is not closing, then, I think it is not the fault of the government.
“There is a solution to this. The negotiations are the solution and that is why I have said that I am surprised that ASUU has gone on strike.”
Asked if the government could reach an agreement with ASUU before the end of the 30-day strike, Adamu said, “I can’t give you time. I am ready to reach an agreement with ASUU now but since I am not the only one, I cannot give you time. But certainly, we are going to reach an agreement very soon.”
On the disparity in cut-off marks for common entrance examinations across various parts of the nation, the minister said the low cut-off marks in the North were meant to comply with the requirements of the Federal Character Commission.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, on his part, described the ongoing strike a “leave” following the failure of the union to notify his ministry before embarking on strike.
Ngige also noted that the union failed in its agreement with the National Inter-religious Council headed by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Abubakar Sa’ad; and the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Rev Samson Ayokunle, by failing to report to the committee before embarking on strike.
The minister made this known in a telephone interview with The PUNCH.
Ngige however said, “ASUU failed to get back to us and proceeded on strike without sending notifications. They just gave themselves a leave.
“If you want to go on strike, you should at least inform us officially but they refused to. You cannot just go on strike like that, it is illegal. So, they are just on leave. We will work with them and they will call off the strike.”
On the issue of IPPIS, the minister said, “ASUU went on strike in February 2020, saying their members should not be enrolled on IPPIS at all even when UTAS was not ready but that they should continue receiving their salaries and some allowances via the obnoxious cash system or the abolished recurrent GIFMIS system through which the Federal Government incurred a loss of about N750bn annually paid to ghost workers and other fraudulent financial sharp practices.
“It is pertinent to note that no employee is allowed to dictate to an employer the mode of payment in his organisation in line with the ILO principles at work, provided the wage/compensation is paid as and when due. ASUU should go back to their employers for negotiations; they will call the strike off.”
Responding, Osodeke said the FG did not reach out to ASUU despite paying Adamu a visit on Thursday last week.
He stated, “We were with Adamu Adamu on Thursday (February 10). Why will he be saying he was looking for us? We went to his personal house to tell him about our meeting, and we told him what was likely going to happen so why is he saying he is looking for us? Ask him whether we were with him on Thursday.
“He didn’t tell us anything about renegotiation. If we were with him on Thursday, and we took decision on Sunday, is it not two day difference but nothing from them.”
Speaking on the implication of the government not getting in touch with ASUU, Osodeke added, “We have 30 days and whatever they want to do, we are waiting for them. They don’t have to wait for 30 days, they can solve it in one day or two days. What is he saying about renegotiation? How can one person be saying they are renegotiating without the second party? Is renegotiation not between two people?”
The Punch
The Supreme Court has reserved its judgment in the appeal filed by the Taminu Turaki-led group of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) seeking to overturn the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which nullified the conduct of the party’s national convention, held last year in Ibadan, Oyo State.
A five-member panel of the apex court announced on Wednesday that its judgment would be delivered on a date to be communicated to all parties in the appeal.
Justice Garba Mohammed, who led the five-member panel, made the announcement shortly after lawyers representing parties in the appeal adopted their processes as briefs of their arguments for and against the appeal.
The appeal was filed by the Turaki-led group’s national executives of the party who emerged from the convention.
They had approached the apex court to challenge the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which had nullified the convention for being held in disobedience of a valid order of the court.
While adopting their brief of argument filed on April 2, the appellants, through their team of lawyers led by Paul Erokoro (SAN), urged the Supreme Court not only to allow their appeal but also to dismiss a cross-appeal lodged against them by a leadership group in the party aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.
Meanwhile, Lamido, who was represented by J. C. Njikonye (SAN), as well as the Wike-backed group represented by Joseph Daudu (SAN), filed preliminary objections seeking dismissal of the appeal.
The respondents insisted that, contrary to the contention by the Turaki-led group, the appeal did not fall within the sphere of the PDP’s internal affairs.
It was the respondents’ position that both the high court and the appellate court had rightly exercised jurisdiction over the matter.
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, in a judgment last year, restrained the then-Ambassador Iliya Damagum-led National Executive Committee of the PDP from proceeding with the convention slated for November 15 and 16, 2026, in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Justice Lifu had ordered that the convention should not hold until an aspirant to the office of national chairman, former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido, is allowed to purchase interest and nomination forms to enable him to participate in the convention for the election of national officers.
The party, however, went ahead to conduct the convention in disregard of the orders of the court.
The PDP had predicated its action to conduct the convention on the grounds that the court lacked the jurisdiction to stop the convention, as the issue brought before it was an internal matter of the PDP, which no court has jurisdiction to delve into.
However, the appellate court in its judgment last month disagreed that the issue at the trial court was an internal affair of a political party, which courts cannot entertain.
The three-member panel of the appellate court subsequently nullified the outcome of the convention for being held in disobedience to the orders of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
Dissatisfied, the PDP approached the apex court, praying it to accept the appeal against the lower court judgment, set the judgment aside, and hold that the issue was an internal matter of the PDP, which both the Court of Appeal and the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction to entertain.
However, the respondents in the appeal urged the court to dismiss the appeal for lack of merit and hold otherwise.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed the appeal filed by Julius Abure challenging the legitimacy of the Nenadi Usman-led leadership of the Labour Party (LP).
A three-member panel of the appellate court, in a Tuesday judgment, unanimously affirmed the January 21 judgment by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which upheld the legitimacy of the 29-member caretaker committee of the LP, led by Senator Usman.
In the lead judgment delivered by Justice Oyejoju Oyewumi, which Justices Abba Mohammed and Eberechi Nyesom-Wike agreed with, the appellate court held that the earlier Supreme Court judgment conclusively settled the leadership dispute within the LP by nullifying the convention that purportedly returned Abure as National Chairman.
Justice Lifu had, in the January 21 judgment, relied on an April 4, 2025, decision of the Supreme Court, which held that Abure’s tenure as the party’s National Chairman had expired. The judgment directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognize Senator Usman and other members of her committee as the legitimate leaders of the party, to the exclusion of all others.
The court further held that the lower court had the power under Section 251 of the Constitution to compel a statutory Federal government agency to perform its functions when it ordered INEC to recognize Senator Nenadi Usman as the National Chairman of the Labour Party.
It was equally agreed with the trial court that constituting the LP’s caretaker committee, headed by Usman, was a doctrine of necessity required to provide leadership in the party when a vacuum appeared to exist.
The court faulted Abure’s claim that the trial court denied him a fair hearing and accused him of abusing the court process.
The court also accused Abure of forum shopping by appearing before the Nasarawa State High Court in a case already decided by the Supreme Court, and of persisting in the claim the party’s leadership despite the apex court’s clear and unambiguous pronouncement.
It held that the appeal, marked: CA/ABJ/CV/255/2026, was devoid of merit and constituted an abuse of court process.
“On the whole, I agree with the decision and conclusion of the trial court as the same, being in accordance with the Constitution,” Justice Oyewumi held, adding that the lower court reached a reasonable conclusion that the Court of Appeal cannot fault.
While dismissing the appeal, the court awarded him costs of N10 million for wasting the court’s time on an issue that had already been conclusively determined.
Earlier, the court held that Nenadi Usman, as a juristic person, had the right to file the case before the trial court, and that the trial court had jurisdiction to hear and determine the case.
The court also rejected Abure’s allegation that the lower court denied him a fair hearing, noting that the claim lacked any basis.
President Bola Tinubu has approved a minor cabinet reshuffle in the membership of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
According to a memo signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, two cabinet members, Mr. Wale Edun and Arc. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa are to leave the cabinet while their replacements have been named.
A statement signed by the Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Yomi Odunuga, on Tuesday evening, said Edun, until the latest development, was the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy.
“He has been directed to hand over to Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, who is now to take over as Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy. Oyedele was formerly a Minister of State in the ministry.
“Also Mr. Muttaqha Rabe Darma (PhD.) has been named as the ministerial nominee and minister-designate for the Housing and Urban Development Ministry,” Odunuga stated.
The memo also directed Dangiwa to hand over to the Minister of State in the ministry pending Darma’s confirmation.
The memo stated that “all handing over and taking over processes should be completed on or before close of business on Thursday 23rd April, 2026.”
Explaining the President’s decision, Odunuga quoted Akume as saying: “These changes are aimed at strengthening cohesion, synergy in governance as well as achieving more impactful delivery on the economy to Nigerians, through the Renewed Hope Agenda.”
He said the President, in approving the cabinet reshuffle, has fully exercised his powers as conferred on him by Sections 147 and 148 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999, as amended).
The President thanked the outgoing ministers for their services to the nation while wishing them the best in all their future endeavours.
The President, Akume noted, equally assured all cabinet members that “the process of reinvigoration shall be continuous.”
