ASUU: Why CONUA, other breakaway unions are illegal — Falana

Foremost Nigerian constitutional lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN has described as illegal the decision of the federal government to approve newly-registered academic unions.

Recall that 2 new Sub-unions in the Academic sector, Congress of Nigerian University Academics (CONUA) and the Nigerian Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA), were on Wednesday, given their certificates of registration by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige.

Vanguard reports that Falana, who gave a legal perspective on the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU-Federal Government fallout in an interview on Arise TV’s Newsday on Wednesday, also x-rayed the implications that come with the new unions.

He said, “Under the current Labour Law regime in Nigeria, you cannot have two unions or three unions in the same sector.

“In other words, within the academia in Nigeria, there can only be one registered trade union that is the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) registered pursuant to the Trade Union Act as amended.

“We are going to have to have a mushrooming of trade unions, which threatens industrial peace in the country. We cannot have two unions in the university nor can we have two unions in other unions in the country. Politically it wont work,” he said.

Falana described the registration as illegal and a desperate measure by the government to break the strike.