On Tuesday, the federal government recognised the Congress
of Nigerian University Academics (CONUA), a breakaway faction of the Academic
Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), as an academic union.
Chris Ngige, the minister of labour and employment,
presented the certificate of registration to the union in Abuja.
Ngige also presented a certificate of registration to the National
Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA).
The development has continued to stir heated reactions from
stakeholders in the education sector.
WHAT IS CONUA ALL
ABOUT?
CONUA was formed in October 2019 as a breakaway faction of
ASUU. The faction was said to have parted ways with ASUU over disagreement on
some issues.
At the time, the union was formed by lecturers from five
varsities.
They include lecturers from Obafemi Awolowo University
(OAU), Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma; Federal University, Oye Ekiti
(FUOYE); Federal University, Lokoja (FUL) and Kwara State University (KWASU),
Molete.
CONUA is led by ‘Niyi Sunmonu, a lecturer at OAU.
‘WE’RE NOT
ANTI-GOVERNMENT’
At its stakeholders’ forum in 2019, CONUA announced that the
union “is not anti-government”.
Sunmonu, its national coordinator, had said the union was
established to restore stability to Nigerian universities.
He also said members of the union would adopt “constructive
criticism” and “alternative ways of solving problems”.
“For the standard of education to be very high, we need a
stable academic calendar. We need to be able to predict the academic session,
have innovations that are difficult without continuity, and be attuned to
modern realities,” he had said.
“Our union would approach the matter of engagement with all
stakeholders in an engaging manner to have a common ground for moving forward.
“Our union is not
anti-government, if government and by extension, administrators of universities
are doing well, we will let the world know and we will quickly knock them,
provide alternative constructive criticism and take them to task where they are
not doing well.
“We will not wait for them to make mistakes before we
intervene. We have vision and will provide ahead what can be done to have
better results. If that is done we are sure we will have a better way to move
forward.
“Members believe we
should have alternative ways of solving problems. Members have been
contributing very well to the finance of the union. When we fulfill and do all
that we need to do, financial constraints will be forgotten.
“We have been at this for over three years in Ife. We have
been waxing stronger and members from other universities have been experiencing
what we experience here; hence the decision to come together to form a national
union.”
WHAT NEXT FOR ASUU?
Many believe the registration of CONUA was to shrink the
influence of ASUU amid its lingering strike.
ASUU embarked on strike over the demand for increased
funding for public universities, and a review of lecturers’ salaries and
allowances, among other issues.
The strike, which has lasted for over seven months, has
continued to elicit concerns, with students and stakeholders urging the
government to address the issue.
Speaking on CONUA’s formation, Emmanuel Osodeke, ASUU
president, said the union is unperturbed by the government’s action.
Osodeke also said the union was not aware of any recognised
faction.
The ASUU president accused Ngige of “continuously creating
more chaos in the resolution process”.
“ASUU, therefore, makes bold to say that the minister of
labour and employment has taken upon himself the role of unabashed protagonist
in our ongoing dispute with the government of Nigeria for some inexplicable
reasons,” NAN quoted him as saying.
On September 21, the national industrial court ordered ASUU
to call off its nationwide strike.
But the union has filed an appeal seeking a stay of
execution of the judgment.
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