The leadership of the Congress of University Academics (CONUA) has made a formal appeal to the Federal Government, urging it to be generous and pay all university lecturers their eight months of withheld salaries. This withholding of salaries occurred during the eight months in 2022 when lecturers were absent from their duty posts due to an industrial action initiated by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). Although the Federal Government has begun the process of compensating CONUA members for their withheld salaries, recognizing that they did not participate in the strike, Dr. Niyi Sunmonu, the president of the newly approved union, has called for all lecturers to receive their payments.
Dr. Sunmonu made these remarks during CONUA’s inaugural National Executive Council meeting at Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife, where he was ratified as the first national president. The meeting also saw the ratification of Dr. Abdulhameed Salawu as the National Vice President, Dr. Henri Oripeloye as the National Secretary, Dr. Issa Abdulraheem as the Assistant National Secretary, and Dr. Ernest Nwoke as the National Publicity Secretary of the union. Sunmonu emphasized that CONUA did not declare a strike and explained that his members were willing to work during the strike period but were unable to do so due to the absence of students on campuses.
He stated, “CONUA has consistently maintained that it didn’t declare any strike, and according to section 43, subsection 1B of the Trade Dispute Act, what happened to members of CONUA can be interpreted within that provision.” He expressed concern that the government’s implementation of a ‘no work, no pay’ policy was unjust, given that CONUA members were ready to work but could not do so because students were asked to vacate the campuses. Sunmonu argued, “It will be unjust for the government to apply the ‘no work, no pay’ policy to us, and this principle is what we are following. We have written letters to various ministries, consistently stating that we have never declared a strike and are not striking.”
Furthermore, he noted that the ongoing crisis would not escalate simply because another union declared a strike, as they have the right to present their case to the government or the courts. At this stage, Sunmonu reiterated that the only course of action is to appeal to the Federal Government to be magnanimous and ensure that all lecturers are compensated. He maintained that CONUA did not declare a strike and that applying the ‘no work, no pay’ policy to them would be unjust.
In the communiqué issued at the conclusion of the meeting, CONUA emphasized that education could be made more affordable by ensuring an uninterrupted academic calendar. The union also urged the government to ensure reasonable utilization of university autonomy, to urgently address “seemingly unseen corruption,” and to rectify accreditation fraud in universities.
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