Femi Falana, SAN, a leading Nigerian constitutional lawyer, has asserted that the Academic Staff Union of Universities would not break apart as a result of the registration of splinter academic unions by the Federal Government.
In an interview with Arise TV’s Newsday on Wednesday, Falana stated this.
On Tuesday, Senator Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment, approved the registration of two new academic unions and gave them the go-ahead to resume their work in the classrooms.
According to Ngige, the two unions were the Congress of Nigerian University Academics (CONUA) and the Nigerian Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA), both of which had publicly rejected ASUU’s operating model.
Falana, however, said that the registration was unlawful and that it was an attempt by the administration to end the strike.
“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 claims that ASUU has been at the forefront of cleaning up the Nigerian university system and locating resources to support the universities.
Falana said, “Government has tried various measures but the latest one is perhaps going to embarrass the government because it is an illegal exercise and won’t work. ASUU is today one of the most organised and united trade unions in Africa.
“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 which is the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) registered pursuant to the Trade Union Act as amended,” he said.
He continued by saying that the development would lead to an increase in academic unions and that the economy will suffer as a result.
“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 won’t work,” he said.
He recommended the administration to go back to the drawing board and make sure that the right advice is obtained in order to avoid subjecting the nation to mockery.