The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, yesterday revealed that the alleged lack of transparency, democracy and the failure of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to render proper account of it’s check off dues culminated in the grievances that spurred considerations for registration of the Congress of University Academics (CONUA) and the National Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA).
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.
He said: “Prior to 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 the members of 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 has been unbundled.” Meanwhile, Osodeke has 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 makingnews, hehasnotbeen making any news headline.”
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