ASUU to sue FG over registration of CONUA, NAMDA

The Academic Staff Union of Universities says it is approaching the National Industrial Court (NIC) over the Federal Government’s registration of the two factional unions.

“ASUU is going to court. It is going to be the NIC,” ASUU’s lawyer, Femi Falana, told Channels Television on Thursday, October 06, 2022.

The President of ASUU, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, also confirmed the development in a chat with newsmen on Thursday.

“He (Falana) is our lawyer. So, that is correct,” Osodeke said when asked to confirm the development.

What happened: The Federal Government on Tuesday, October 04, registered two factional academic unions – the Congress of Nigerian Universities Academics (CONUA) and the National Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA).

The registration of the two factional unions took place as talks between ASUU and the government broke down amid the over seven-month strike by lecturers of public universities.

What FG said: The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, on Tuesday, explained that the two bodies will exist alongside ASUU, adding that the two associations will enjoy the rights and privileges accorded to other academic unions in the tertiary education system.

Why ASUU and CONUA cannot co-exist: However, Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, said the registration of CONUA and NAMDA is illegal. He said according to the Trade Unions Act, only one union is allowed to operate in every sector.

“You can’t have two trade unions in the same sector. Only a union is allowed to be registered for all academics in Nigeria.

“That is the essence of the classification of trade unions because we used to have mushrooms in the First Republic so the government restructured the unions and grouped all academics together and all non-academics together. You can’t have two or three in one field,” he said.

Falana uses Case Law: Falana said there is a Supreme Court judgment on the proliferation of trade unions – the Erasmus Osawe V Registrar of Trade Unions.

The senior lawyer also said the apex court ruled “that your freedom of association is not totalled; it is also regulated by the Trade Unions Act so that there will be no proliferation of trade unions”.

What you should know: ASUU has been on strike since February 14, 2022, over unpaid allowances, poor welfare, and payment software, among others.