The Congress of University Academics (CONUA) has debunked the claims by a former president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Hassan Sunmonu, that the union was created to weaken the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
Sunmonu, who was also the General Secretary of the Organisation of African Trade Unions (OATUU), spoke on Sunday during the Toyin Falola Interview Series, which featured the theme “Trade Unions, Labour, and African Politics.”
In a statement, CONUA debunked Sunmonu’s claim, saying it was flawed in logic and inconsistent with established Nigerian and international labour law principles.
The academic union claimed that it was formed out of genuine reformist convictions within the university system and not from any government design.
The union said it was formally registered in 2023 after full compliance with Nigerian legal requirements.
It claimed that all attempts by ASUU to block its registration, administratively failed, and its subsequent legal challenge at the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), also failed in July 2023.
“The court’s decision rested on clear statutory and procedural foundations. First, the court affirmed that Section 27 of the Trade Union Act permits the existence of more than one union in a single place of employment and expressly prohibits trade union monopoly.
