By DAUD OLATUNJI
ABEOKUTA – The Nigeria Union of Teachers, Ogun State Chapter, said it had got the leave from the National Industrial Court, NIC, to join the Accountant-General of the state in the suit against the state Teaching Service Commission and the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools, ASUSS, in the state over deduction of salaries of teachers.
The NUT Chairman, Sam Idowu, said this yesterday, adding the that Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice was joined in the suit against the state over the collection of dues deducted from the salaries of secondary school teachers.
He said it became imperative to join the Accountant-General in the suit against ASUSS so as to stop further deduction of their members' salaries in the name of union fees by government officials.
Vanguard, however, got the court processes, dated May 24, where Justice J.T. Agbadu-Fishim, in a ruling held that NIC was competent to hear the suit by the state NUT against the collection of union check-off dues deducted from the salaries of secondary school teachers in the state by ASUSS.
On the motion on notice by the NUT praying for leave to join accountant general of Ogun State, the NIC held that the officer remained "a necessary party."
It read "leave is hereby granted the claimants to join the accountant general of Ogun State as the fifth respondent in this suit. Leave is equally granted the claimant to amend the complaint and the statement of facts in the manner to reflect the joinder as attached as Exhibit B and C, respectively.
"The said amended processes are to be served on the accountant general of Ogun State as the fifth respondent in this suit. The respondent is at liberty to also amend its processes accordingly," he ruled.
He however dismissed an earlier motion objecting to the competence of the court brought by Tunde Folarin and Bola Badejo, President and Secretary of ASUSS, respectively as the third and fourth applicants/respondents in the suit.
Citing the Court of Appeal in Nnama v. Nwanebe (1991) 2 Nigerian Weekly Law Reports 172, page 181, and the Supreme Court in CBN V.Ahmed (2001) NWLR pt. 724, page 36, the NIC judge ruled that the suit by the NUT against ASUSS was not an abuse of court process.
He also held that the reliefs sought by the NUT in the suit before the NIC were not the same as those contained in an earlier suit filed against the ASUSS by the union before the Federal High Court and the
Court of Appeal in Abuja.
The court then fixed the hearing of the matter for July 5.
Vanguard Nigeria