A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, and Constitutional Lawyer, Femi Falana, said that under the current Labour Law regime in Nigeria, it is impossible to have two or three existing unions in the same sector. This means that it is illegal within Nigeria’s academic system, to have more than one registered trade union. He added that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is the only registered trade union; and as such, the only one recognized in the constitution. This illegal perspective on ASUU’s disagreement with the Federal Government, was said on Wednesday, in an interview with Arise Tv.
Having two or more unions would threaten industrial peace in the country, and there would be no cooperative achievements in the university system. Falana said that the “Government has tried various measures, but the latest one is perhaps going to embarrass the government because it is an illegal exercise, and it won’t work. ASUU is today one of the most organised and united trade unions in Africa.” To further buttress his point, Falana added that the economy would suffer since the expansion of academic unions was inspired by the registration of breakaway unions.
