Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has raised the alarm over the alleged witch-hunt against the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) by the Nigerian government over non-submission of its audited financial returns for over five years.
While dismissing the claims that ASUU had not submitted its audited financial returns to the Registrar of Trade Unions for over five years as required by the law, NLC insisted that the union had submitted all its financial reports up till 2021.
In the letter to the Registrar of Trade Unions and copied to the Minister of Labour and Employment, the President of NLC, Ayuba Wabba, warned against moves to de-register or withdraw ASUU’s registration license.
Wabba urged the Minister to direct the registrar of trade unions “not to be used to execute an obnoxious plot against Nigerian workers especially our lecturers in the universities.”
He said the plot was to deliberately frustrate ASUU from submitting its audited financial report in line with the request of the minister, in order to find an excuse to go after its registration.
The labour leader further said that ASUU had rendered the account for 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 as of 9th September 2022, therefore warning against actions that will cause industrial disharmony in the country.
The letter further said that the registrar should accept the Annual Financial Report and Audited Accounts submitted by ASUU, adding that ASUU should not be punished for demanding that the government respects the Collective Bargaining Agreements(CBA) it entered with them.
“Our attention has been drawn by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to a letter dated 7” September 2022 written to ASUU by the Registrar of Trade Unions on the foregoing subject.
“We understand that ASUU had responded to the directives of the Registrar of Trade Unions to submit its Annual Financial Reports and Audited Accounts within 72 hours. The Annual Financial Reports and Audited Accounts of ASUU as requested were submitted by ASUU to the office of the Registrar of Trade Unions, Federal Ministry of Labour in less than 24 hours, specifically on the 8th of September 2022.
“We are greatly alarmed that the timely submission of the Annual Financial Reports and Audited Accounts by ASUU in accordance with the directives of the Registrar of Trade Unions was rejected by the staff at the Office of the Registrar of Trade Unions.
“The staff disclosed that they were under strict instructions not to accept ASUU’s Annual Financial Reports and Audited Accounts. Later efforts to send the requested union’s financial documents by courier services were equally rejected by the office of the Registrar of Trade Unions. Please find the documents related to the stated facts attached herewith.
“Juxtaposing the unnerving short notice given to ASUU to submit its Annual Financial Reports and Audited Accounts with the unveiled threats by the Registrar of Trade Unions to withdraw ASUU’s Certificate of Registration and the rather callous refusal to accept the same documents upon submission by ASUU all signpost a very sinister agenda which is capable of destroying the current general harmony in industrial relations in Nigeria.
“The current travail by ASUU appears to resonate with remarks in the public domain that the government has perfected plans to proscribe the Academic Staff Union of Universities. If such a plan is true, it would only serve to remind us of the dark years of military rule where unions were proscribed for standing up in defence of the rights of workers.”
