We’re not FG’s creation, CONUA replies ex-NLC president

The Congress of University Academics (CONUA) has expressed disappointment in the former President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr. Hassan Sunmonu, for describing the union as an “orchestrated opposition created by the Federal Government to weaken the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).”

The union said the comment was “totally incorrect, flawed in logic, and inconsistent with established Nigerian and international labour law principles.”

CONUA stated this in its reaction to a recent media report credited to the former labour leader, who claimed the union was a government creation against ASUU.

Sunmonu, who is also a former General Secretary of the Organisation of African Trade Unions (OATUU), made the remark during the globally streamed Toyin Falola Interviews, watched across several countries and platforms recently.

The discussion, centred on “Trade Unions, Labour, and African Politics” and chaired by renowned historian Professor Toyin Falola, featured Professor Idowu Olayinka, Achike Chude, Owei Lakemfa, and Zikora Ibeh, with Sunmonu as the principal guest.

In a statement signed by its National Secretary, Prof. Henri Oripeloye, and made available to the Nigerian Tribune on Wednesday, CONUA said it ordinarily would not have responded but decided to do so to set the record straight and avoid misleading Nigerians about its true intention.

According to him, CONUA emerged from genuine reformist convictions within the university system, not from any government design.

Providing background to its formation, the national scribe noted that CONUA was formally registered in 2023 after full compliance with Nigerian legal requirements. He said all attempts by ASUU to block the registration failed, including a subsequent legal challenge at the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), which was dismissed in July 2023.

He explained that the court’s decision was based on clear statutory and procedural grounds, first on the provision of Section 27 of the Trade Union Act, which permits the existence of more than one union in a single place of employment and expressly prohibits trade union monopoly; and second, on Article 2 of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention No. 87, which guarantees every worker the right to establish and join organisations of their choice without prior authorisation.

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“These provisions, together with Section 40 of the Constitution of Nigeria on freedom of association, confirm beyond doubt that CONUA is a legitimate, constitutionally protected trade union.

“So, any attempt to portray CONUA as unlawful runs contrary to the letter and spirit of the law.

“The historical record directly contradicts Comrade Hassan Sunmonu’s assertions about the origins of CONUA,” he added.

Oripeloye further explained that CONUA was formed in 2018, well before the current federal administration, and without the instigation of any previous government, as a principled response to unresolved internal crises within ASUU-OAU.

He stated that confidence in ASUU had been significantly shaken by the annulment of duly conducted branch elections in 2013, an action which the Hassan Sunmonu-led ASUU trustees’ fact-finding committee acknowledged as unjustifiable.

He recalled that on page 8 of the committee’s report, it was stated that “the Trustees could not uncover any justification for the wholesale annulment of the entire election and therefore consider NEC’s action to have been wrong.”

He added that the disputed Vice Chancellor selection process of 2016 at the same university further eroded trust, with the same committee affirming on page 9 that “the ASUU Branch Chairperson, Dr. Caleb Aborisade, did not speak the truth about the procedure followed by Council…” and on page 10 that he failed in his duty to defend the ASUU constitution and therefore acted irresponsibly.

The CONUA National Secretary further stated that allegations of ethical breaches, misrepresentation of congress resolutions, financial irregularities, and disregard for internal democracy were formally reported to ASUU-NEC and investigated by a visitation team in which Sunmonu participated.

He added that the failure of that intervention to achieve reconciliation eventually led to the expulsion of many academics, who thereafter voluntarily came together to form CONUA.

“So, the claim that CONUA is a government creation ignores these established facts and misrepresents the authentic, reform-driven journey of our union.

“It is therefore disappointing that Comrade Hassan Sunmonu, who led a fact-finding team to OAU during the heat of the crisis but failed to address the root causes, would now resort to revisionist history by labeling CONUA as a ‘government creation.’”

On the 2009 agreement renegotiation, Oripeloye noted that CONUA is currently engaging with the Yayale Ahmed-led committee and discussions are yielding positive outcomes.

“That is why it is important for every stakeholder in the education sector, including Comrade Hassan Sunmonu, to respect the union pluralism now recognised by Nigerian labour law.

“Efforts to delegitimise a young union simply because it prefers dialogue and lawful engagement to strikes are counterproductive,” he concluded.