The federal government’s registration of two new tertiary academic unions has been condemned by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
Speaking in a chat with Vanguard Newspaper, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, the national president of ASUU, said that the federal government’s action had no bearing on the organization as a whole.
“That does not in any way affect us,” he said. “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.”
Recall that earlier on Tuesday, the federal government registered the National Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA) and the Congress of Nigerian University Academics (CONUA).
The head of CONUA, a union for professors working in all of the nation’s institutions, is Niyi Sunmonu, a lecturer at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife.
Niyi Sunmonu, a lecturer at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, is the president of CONUA, a union for lecturers employed by all of the country’s educational institutions.
According to Chris Ngige, the Minister of Labour and Productivity, the newly registered unions will cohabit alongside ASUU and will have access to the same rights and privileges provided to other academic unions in the higher education system.
