The Nigerian Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA) and the Congress of Nigerian University Academics (CONUA), which were recently registered by the Minister of Labour and Employment, respectively, are unconstitutional, according to the country’s top constitutional lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN.
In an interview with Arise TV’s Newsday on Wednesday, Falana provided a legal perspective on the Academic Staff Union of Universities’ (ASUU) disagreement with the Federal Government. She also examined the consequences of 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.
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“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 characterized the registration as unlawful and a last-ditch effort by the administration to end the strike.
He 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.
Falana predicted that the expansion of academic unions brought on by the registration of breakaway unions would hurt the economy.
In order to avoid subjecting the nation to mockery, he encouraged the government to go back to the drawing board and make sure that appropriate advice is obtained.
Recall that on Tuesday, Senator Chris Ngige, the minister of labor and employment, authorized the registration of CONUA and NAMDA and commanded the unions to reenter the classroom.
Ngige claims that CONUA and NAMDA split from ASUU and proclaimed their opposition to the Union’s operating philosophy.
