Don’t Behave Like ASUU, Ngige Tells New Union CONUA

The Federal Government has concluded the registration of the Congress of University Academics (CONUA) and the National Association of Medical and Dental Academics.

They broke away from the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

The government said with the completion of CONUA’s registration as a university union, it has been liberated from ASUU’s stranglehold.

Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, met with the union’s President, ‘Niyi Sunmonu, and other executives in Abuja.

Before the meeting went into a closed-door session, the minister warned the university lecturers not to “behave like ASUU members.”

Ngige presented the official gazette, the Trade Dispute Act, and the official certificate of registration to the unions’ leaders.

The minister noted that having been gazetted, the unions were entitled to all labour rights as enshrined in the International Trade Unions’ constitution.

He said the government decided to “break the monolithic” nature of ASUU because of the damage done to the university system through incessant strikes.

Ngige urged security agencies to be on alert and avoid attacks on CONUA members.

He said the gazetting and certificate presentation conformed with Section 3 (2) of the International Trade Union policy.

Ngige said: “Trade unionism is for workers and employers of labour to organise themselves and it is a voluntary act.

“Before 2020, CONUA had approached the ministry complaining of lack of democracy and transparency in the leadership of ASUU, especially in rendering proper account of their check-up dues remitted from the government.

“Based on these grievances, the ministry decided to register CONUA to operate as a full-fledged union for which we have issued a certificate of registration and gazetting which is part of Section 3 (2) of the ITU.

“Unbundling is not new. The Nigerian Union of Pensioners, NEPA and NNPC have been unbundled.”

Sunmonu claimed the high-handedness of ASUU’s leadership birthed the association.

He assured that the era of incessant strikes was over.

Sunmonu, however, protested the continued remittance of CONUA members’ check-up dues to ASUU, urging Ngige to intervene to reverse the trend going forward.

But in a swift reaction, ASUU’s President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, insisted that the registration of CONUA and NAMDA was illegal and against the rules guiding the Trade Union Act.

The ASUU President said: “We are in court because they are fake, they are against the rule. “There are Supreme Court judgement against such issues because what the Minister is doing is against what the Trade Union Act said. “He (Ngige) is a Minister who is no more making news and he decided to make one. “If you watch in the past three months he has not been making news, hehasnotbeen making any news headline.”

ASUU last year suspended its eight-month-long strike over alleged discrepancies in welfare and other remunerations.

But the payment of half salaries to members shortly after the strike led to protests.

Last week, the government began moves to pay the salary arrears of CONUA members.

A memo was issued from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation requesting details of all members for payment of their withheld wages.