FG registration of factional body ‘inconsequential, unconstitutional’– ASUU, as CONUA alleges agreements ‘done under duress’

Reacting to the federal Government’s registration of a factional academic union within the public universities’ sector, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has described Tuesday’s move as ‘inconsequential,’ even as it insisted the recognition does not threaten the older body.

This is also as the newly-registered Congress of Nigerian University Academics (CONUA) indicated that previous agreements reached between academic unions and Federal Government were ‘actually done under duress.’

It would be recalled that the Federal Government had, Tuesday, presented Certificates of Registration to two labour groups within the public universities’ sector, namely; the Congress of Nigerian University Academics (CONUA), a breakaway faction of ASUU, as well as, the National Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA).

Presenting the certificates to the two unions, during a ceremony in Abuja, Minister of Labour and Productivity, Dr Chris Ngige, said the two unions will coexist with ASUU.

CONUA and NAMDA will now join other trade bodies in the tertiary education circle, like the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU), the Non-Academic Staff Union of Allied and Education Institutions (NASU) and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT).

While SSANU and NASU as well as NAAT have suspended their industrial actions which started at the same time as that of ASUU, only the latter remains on strike.

The newly-registered CONUA has since distanced itself from the seven-month strike by ASUU.

Reacting, Tuesday, to the registration of CONUA, the President of ASUU, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, has said the move by the Federal Government ‘is inconsequential and does not pose any threat to its existence.’

Prof. Osodeke while speaking to newsmen, said the registration of the factional union is unconstitutional.

“That does not in any way affect us. We are a disciplined and focused union and we know what we are doing and what we are after. Let them register as many unions as they like. That is inconsequential as far as we are concerned. We are not also in any way threatened. The sky is big enough for birds to fly.

“We know our members, we know our strength and we also know what our vision and mission are. Our members are not saboteurs or bootlickers . Our struggle is for a better educational system in the country. If the system is good, all of us will benefit and it is not only ASUU members’ children and wards that are going to benefit from improved funding and the provision of better facilities in our institutions.

“As a union, we have been championing transparency and accountability in the university system. That is why we are calling for the adoption of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution, UTAS, as the payment platform in the university system. Those indicted for misappropriating over N100 billion through their IPPIS, are they our members?

“Moreover, one of our demands is that Visitation Panels be set up to probe the activities and the finances of universities in the country. If we don’t want corruption stamped out, we would not be asking for that,” Osodeke explained.

Meanwhile, the newly-registered CONUA trade group has assured that it will seek ‘to do things differently’ from other academic bodies in public universities in terms of negotiations with government.

National coordinator of the group, Dr. Niyi Sunmonu, while speaking as guest on Arise TV interview programme, stressed the need for democratisation in the academic environment, saying that this is what academics should be pursuing and that they must approach problems from all angles.

According to Sunmonu, ‘there should not be a only this way or the highway mentality when it comes to solving problems,’ as he noted that ‘the country had been using strike action to press domestic demands for well over 40 years.’

“We have had different kinds of governments, the military dictators, the democracy that we all enjoy; we have had one response, and that response is put pen to paper on agreement and renege on the agreement later.

“We are of the opinion that these agreements, to us, are actually done under duress, where you have the situation in which the other party, which is the government that you are actually discussing with, comes to a meeting with a relaxed mind that once they have an agreement that is workable; when they put pen to paper to sign, they would honour that.

“Issues are resolved at the table; why can’t we devote more time to that so as to avoid casualties? Even in situations where there are outright battles. Parents and students are the victims in this situation.

“We want to deploy all of our faculties and networks to the area of table discussions that will result in a win-win scenario; discussions that will result in an agreement that the other side will not feel compelled to put pen to paper to do,” Sunmonu said.

The Congress of Nigeria University Academics (CONUA) as a body started off at OAU with about 750 lecturers of the institution on February 12, 2018.

They were formally inaugurated on March 6, 2018 at the OAU with over 120 members in attendance.

The union has by Niyi Sunmonu, a lecturer at the Department of Physics & Engineering Physics, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State, as its National Coordinator.

Since its creation, it has traditionally distanced itself from any strike called by ASUU.

Federal Government had initially claimed it was hesitant to recognise the union because it did not want to cause an issue.

Its emergence on campus in 2018 followed a leadership conflict within the OAU chapter of ASUU.

The situation first surfaced in 2016 during the university’s search for a new Vice Chancellor.

The then leadership of ASUU on campus was accused of bias when many of CONUA members alleged that other lecturers were ‘blindly supporting’ a particular candidate in the election.

Bamitale Omole, the university’s then-outgoing vice-chancellor, had likewise been overwhelmed by the problem when protesting non-academic employee unions forced him to leave the building.

Before Eyitope Ogunbodede was appointed in a substantive position, an acting vice-chancellor was selected to lead the university for a year. In June, Mr. Ogunbodede’s five-year term came to an end. Since then, agriculture professor Adebayo Bamire has taken charge.

Since its formation in 2018, CONUA has established branches in over 17 universities across the nation. The organization is currently awaiting official registration by the Federal Government, Tuesday in Abuja during a ceremony chaired by the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Dr Chris Ngige.

ASUU which has been on strike since February 14, this year is seeking seven demands from the Federal Government.

According to President of ASUU, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, the union is demanding; the signing of June 2022 agreement; adoption of UTAS; N170billion for NEEDS; N50billion for arrears; White Papers from visitation panels; Intervention on the Draft Bill; as well as; Payment of salaries since March 2022.

Only last September, ASUU moved to call the strike ‘indefinite,’ following failure to reach an agreement with the Federal Government over the contentious ‘no work-no pay’ rule sought by the Minister, Ngige.

Also the last month, government had obtained an injunction at the National Industrial Court in Abuja, which ordered the lecturers to suspend their strike, however, ASUU has since lodged an appeal before the court.