Competency Test: “Teachers Have Been Sack” – El-Rufai, NUT Rejects Sack
No teacher have been served letter of disengagement – NUT
Bomba Dauda, Kaduna
The Chairman, Kaduna State Union of Teachers, NUT, Comrade Audu Amba, debunked the insinuation that Governor Nasiru El-rufai had served teachers the controversial sack letter before the restraining order by the National Industrial Court sitting in Kaduna.
Amba counter this allegation at a press conference organized by the union at its headquarters in Kaduna, yesterday. According to Amba,”The Honourable Court in its wisdom upon contested facts on the 14th day of December, 2017 granted an injunction restraining the Kaduna state government from dismissing/ disengaging any teacher in the public schools of the Kaduna state pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.
“The order of the court above was duly served on the government of Kaduna state and the Attorney-General of Kaduna State. However, to our greatest surprise, and disbelief and contrary to the later and spirit of the principle of rule of power which interlia entails the supremacy of the law and separation of power, the governor of Kaduna state in a radio programme on 23rd December, 2017 aired on the state media outfit (KSMC) posited that the court was wrong in granting the interlocutory order purported on the ground that the teachers who failed the competency test have already been disengaged, a fact which was not before the court and whose factual basis does not exist as up to now, no teacher in Kaduna state have been served any letter of dismissal/disengagement from service,” has said.
The union is appalled/ taken aback the pronouncement of the governor as aforesaid. Their believe is that the accepted norm in all civilized societies is for the Kaduna state government to appeal against the decision of the National Industrial Court instead of resorting to an unfounded criticism of same.
Their attention was also drawn to the fact that the Kaduna state government despite the service of the order of interlocutory injunction on it is now making frantic and desperate efforts to frustrate the outcome of the suit in court by directing the education secretaries in all the local government areas to come over to SUBEB and collect backed dated letters of disengagement from service for onward distribution to teachers in their local governments.
“The purpose of this press conference,” he said, adding that, “is to draw the attention of all peace loving Nigerians to this apparent show of shame unfolding in Kaduna State. We believe that the rule of law is the bedrock of democracy and any government/institution that refuses to bow to the dictate of the rule of law automatically loses its legitimacy to superintend the affairs of its citizenry.
“We therefore implore and appeal to the conscience of the Kaduna state governor and all its institution and all its institutions to subordinate themselves to the judicial powers of our law courts as enshrined under section 6 (a) of the 1999 constitution (as amended) which is our organic law from which government at all levels exist and draw their legitimacy.”
