The Federal Government sued the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), and the National Industrial Court set a decision date of May 30 for that case.
Ita Enang, the claimants' attorney, notified the court that the matter was scheduled for the adoption of written addresses when the matter was brought before Justice Benedict Kanyip yesterday.
However, the defendant's attorney, Femi Falana (SAN), disclosed to the court that he has submitted a notice of appeal to the Court of Appeal.
Falana stated that he was disputing the court's March 28 decision, which determined that Chris Ngige, the minister of labour and employment, has the authority to refer the case to the National Industrial Court.
In addition, he requested that the execution be postponed and the case be continued pending the Court of Appeal's ruling.
In addition, he contended that the Court of appeal should decide whether the case was competent, as Enang had stated.
Enang pleaded with the court to move on to the day's issue, the adoption of written addresses. The court ruled that expediency is crucial in the administration of justice.
“It's better to get a bad judgment quickly than a good judgment in delayed time in labour matters,” he said.
The court also decided that the defence attorney's referenced authorities were not relevant to the current case. The court further cited NICN 2006 Rule 47 to clarify that an appeal did not result in a stay of execution.
The judge further stated that by choosing to apply for a stay of execution rather than filing a defence, the defence had demonstrated a lack of seriousness.
The court further stated that numerous applications had caused a delay in the case.
Kanyip continued: “The application for stay of execution is rejected and the case will proceed and a ruling is entered according.”
As a result, the court gave the claimant's attorney instructions to proceed with adopting his written address.
As the litigation was not contested nor denied by the defence due to its failure to submit processes of defence, the respondent's attorney asked the court to grant all requested reliefs.
