The National Industrial Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit filed by the Academic Staff Union of Universities to challenge the registration of the Congress Of University Academics and the Nigeria Association of Medical and Dental Academics as trade unions.
ASUU filed the suit following the decision of the Federal Government to register CONUA and NAMDA as trade unions amid last year’s prolonged ASUU strike.
Then Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, presented certificates of registration to CONUA and NAMDA in October 2022, saying they would coexist with ASUU.
Delivering judgment on ASUU’s suit on Tuesday, the President of the National Industrial Court, Justice Benedict Kanyip, said Section 27 of the Trade Union Act allows for more than one trade union in employment.
The judge held that the Federal Government had the right to register both NAMDA and CONUA. Justice Kanyip added that ASUU did not present any evidence before the court to show the complete registration of CONUA and NAMDA when it filed the suit, saying ASUU acted on hearsay.
The judge pointed out that as of October 26, 2022 when ASUU filed its suit, CONUA and NAMDA registration had not yet been gazetted in line with Section 523 of the Trade Union Act.
According to the court’s ruling, ASUU also made a mistake by filing against NAMDA as the National Association of Medical and Dental Academics instead of the Nigeria Association of Medical and Dental Academics.
