ASUU sues Nigerian gov’t over registration of CONUA, NAMDA
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has dragged the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, to court over the registration of the Congress of University Academics (CONUA) and the National Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA).
According to the court documents seen by Peoples Gazette, Ngige was listed as the first defendant while CONUA and NAMDA were listed as the third and fourth defendants.
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The suit filed at the National Industrial Court on Tuesday sought a declaration that “the 1st defendant is not competent to register the 3rd and 4th defendants (respectively) to co-exist alongside and carry out the same functions with the claimant in the universities in Nigeria,” citing Sections 40 [2] of the Constitution of the Federal Republic Of Nigeria 1999 as amended and Sections 3 [2] and 5 [4] of the Trade Unions Act.
ASUU prayed the industrial court to declare the certificate of registration issued to CONUA and NAMDA illegal.
The lawsuit filed by Femi Falana, ASUU’s lawyer partly reads: “That the certificate of registration issued by the 2nd defendant to the 3rd and 4th defendants on or about the 4th day of October 2022 to function as trade unions in the universities in Nigeria is illegal, null and void and of no effect whatsoever.”
There are claims that the registration of both CONUA and NAMDA was a calculated move to reduce the influence of ASUU, over its then-refusal to call off the eight-month strike.
