The Congress of Nigerian University Academics (CONUA), according to Dr. Dele Ashiru, Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, UNILAG Chapter, is an illegal group made up of unhappy people.
Dr. Ashiru stated on a Channels TV broadcast on Friday that the Academic Staff Union of Universities cannot be abolished.
“Well you see my reaction to that ASUU is an idea and nobody kills an idea so if you have a bunch of disgruntled, dissatisfied individuals who want to yield themselves as tools in the hands of oppressors you know masquerading as trade unions in the Universities, yeah we wish them luck,” the lecturer said.
“So ASUU can’t be jittery, go into the university and ask those who are members of this illegal society to raise up their hands.”
The Federal government and ASUU have been at loggerheads over the demands of striking lecturers’ improved welfare and a host of others, the impasse between both parties would lead to the presentation of certificates of registration to the breakaway factions of the Congress of Nigerian Universities Academics (CONUA) and the National Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA).
Asked about his claims of the illegality of CONUA, he asserted that neither the Minister of Labour nor the Federal Government has the right to certify trade unions.
“Is it the minister of labour that gives a certificate to trade unions? It is not a minister. The registrar of trade unions should publish the certificate they got. What you are seeing happens only in a country like Nigeria,” he stated adamantly.
“is it a minister that will call a press conference and be displaying a letter and be saying they registered another union? Is it a government that recognizes a trade union? a trade union is situated in its followership.”
Dr Ashiru also remarked that members of the CONUA faction were filled with liars who spread fallacies about their reach across universities in the country.
“CONUA has been around since 2017, they have been gallivanting about telling lies to themselves and some of their cronies, one of the lies is that they are in 17 universities, I am a university teacher, where are they in the 17 universities?”