Different reactions have met with the government’s recent decision as FG Registers Two Unions.
The claimed absence of democracy, openness, and improper accounting of check-off dues by ASUU, according to Mr Ngige, allowed for the registration of the new unions.
The Congress of Nigerian University Academics (CONUA) and the National Association of Medical and Dental Academics, two freshly established academic unions in Nigerian institutions, have completed the registration procedure (NAMDA).
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Chris Ngige, the minister of labour and employment, gave the unions formal gazettes and certificates of registration on Tuesday.
In addition to ASUU, he had stated that CONUA and NAMDA will coexist in Nigerian colleges.
Following a leadership conflict that shook the institution’s chapter of ASUU during the 2016 selection process for OAU’s 12th substantive vice-chancellor, CONUA was created at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU). CONUA is a breakaway organisation of ASUU.
‘Niyi Sunmonu, the current National Coordinator of CONUA, and a few disgruntled ASUU members founded CONUA and submitted an application for registration with the government in 2018 as a result of their irreconcilable disagreements.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) have been unbundled as a result of this, according to Mr Ngige, who on Tuesday addressed the CONUA and NAMDA leadership. According to Mr Ngige, the inability of ASUU to properly account for check-off dues to both her members and the government, as well as the claimed lack of democracy and transparency, culminated at the beginning of new unions
According to him, “PRIOR TO 2020, CONUA had addressed the ministry complaining of lack of democracy and transparency in the leadership of ASUU, notably in giving an adequate account of their check-up dues remitted by government.” According to the ITUC’s section 3:2 of the ITUC, “Based on these grievances, the ministry decided to register the members of CONUA to function as a full-fledged union for which we have provided a certificate of registration and gazetting.”
The minister said that the federal government was figuring out how to pay CONUA and NAMDA members’ salaries that had been withheld during the ASUU strike.
The union got a letter from the government, Mr Sunmonu revealed to PREMIUM TIMES that the union got a letter from the Federation’s Office of the Accountant General asking for a list of its members so that their withheld salary may be paid.
Because they initially chose not to participate in the strike, the minister claimed it would be unfair to punish them.
Speaking, the CONUA National Coordinator, Mr Sunmonu, praised the minister for presenting the certificate and declared that “the age of constant strikes in the university system was finished now that CONUA has been given official backing through the presentation of the certificate.”
Mr Sunmonu, who asserted that ASUU’s leadership’s haughtiness was what gave rise to CONUA, also objected to the organization’s members’ check-off contributions still being sent to ASUU.
In closing out the last stage of the registration of CONUA, which is symbolized by the collecting of certificates, Mr Sunmonu said: “Today is a historic day and it is fantastic to come back to this magnificent Ministry.”
We are grateful to Dr Chris Ngige, Minister of Labor and Employment, and his outstanding staff for completing CONUA’s registration and granting us the certificate of registration of the union today.
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