Congress of University Academics (CONUA), an academic Union in the Nigerian universities just registered, ostensibly as rival to the embattled Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), has resolved not to allow university education to be traumatized by academic Union.
In a statement today, October 5, the National Coordinator of CONUA, Dr. Niyi Sunmonu, described the registration of the Union as monumental and historic.
“The registration of the Congress of University Academics (CONUA), as a trade union in the Nigerian university system, is monumentally historic. The hurdles we have faced to get here, since 2018 when we submitted our application for registration, have been seemingly insurmountable.
“The registration is therefore the validation of the power of the human will. It asserts the value of courage, initiative, focus, tenacity, patience, forbearance and persistent positive thinking.
“We are immensely grateful to the Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, and his team of diligent staff for insisting on merit, due process and thoroughness all through the processing of our application for the registration of CONUA. “The very strict and dispassionate review of our application brought out the best in the membership of the union.
“We regard the registration of CONUA as a sacred trust, and pledge to reciprocate by devoting ourselves unceasingly to the advancement of university education in this country.
“We would make the details of our programmes available to the public in due course. “For now, we are giving the assurance that we would work to ensure that the nation is not traumatised again by academic union dislocations in the country’s public universities.
“We are also deeply grateful to the numerous personalities and well-wishers whose good counsel and concrete actions have facilitated the success we have witnessed today.
“We believe in the saying that to whom much is given, much is expected. “We would therefore constantly strive to make them all proud of CONUA.”
