The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC has dismissed statement by the Federal Government that the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU is not a trade union as misleading and misrepresentation of facts.
It would be recalled that on January 17, 2022 at the opening of the 2020/2021 Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council meeting, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Folasade Yemi-Esan had said ASUU is not a trade union.
NLC President Ayuba Wabba in a statement said the Head of Service is not well informed of the claims she made as she is not a competent authority to assert on trade union registration and indeed ancillary trade union concerns in Nigeria.
He also explained that the NLC founding president, Hassan Sunmonu, currently serves as one of the national trustees of ASUU. According to Wabba, the history of ASUU as a trade union has been that of struggles, “the shining badge in the antecedents of ASUU is the commitment of the union to fight for the interests of its members and those of the ordinary Nigerian.
NLC however recalled that ASUU formed in 1978 was a successor body to the Nigerian Association of University Teachers formed in 1965 and since its formation, ASUU is a trade union affiliated to the NLC.
