Two additional academic unions of universities have received certificates of registration from the federal government.
The organizations are the Congress of Nigerian University Academics (CONUA) and the Nigerian Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA).
Both unions received certificates of registration from Minister of Labor and Employment Chris Ngige on Tuesday at the ministry.
The government’s newest ruse aims to end the Academic Staff Union of Universities’ (ASUU) strike, which has been in effect for over eight months.
“These associations will exist side by side with ASUU in Nigerian universities,” said Mr Ngige, citing the ILO convention.
He advised the newly registered academic unions to stay out of the way of the governing council and university administration’s business.
Ngige claims that by requiring the University Transparency and Accountability Solutions (UTAS) to be used as a payment mechanism for its members, ASUU is interfering with the rights of employers.
The current action by the minister could not be unrelated to the previous altercations between him and Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, the president of ASUU.
At a meeting presided over by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, on Thursday, the ASUU leadership had a heated confrontation with the federal government front, represented by Dr. Chris Ngige, the Minister of Labour.
The minister accused Prof. Osodeke of inciting Nigerians to rebel against the government in order to purposefully thwart efforts by the administration to resolve the problem. The union president said that Mr. Ngige was spreading falsehoods about the union, nevertheless.
The registration procedure for CONUA, a rival academic union to the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), began in 2018.
The union, which is being led by Niyi Sunmonu, a lecturer at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) has always distanced itself from every strike called by ASUU.
