The Joint Action Committee of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities and Allied Institutions, on Wednesday, condemned Tuesday’s inauguration of the renegotiation committee on the agreement between the Federal Government and university-based unions.

The two unions, in a jointly signed statement, by President, SSANU, Muhammed Ibrahim and his NASU counterpart, Peters Adeyemi, described the inauguration as a charade.

The unions claimed that the government only gave recognition to the Academic Staff Union of Universities while neglecting other unions.

The Federal Government, through the Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, on Tuesday, announced the reconstitution of a committee to renegotiate the 2009 agreements between the government and various university-based unions, led by Yayale Ahmed.

The committee was given a timeframe of three months.

The PUNCH reports that this is the fourth renegotiation committee set up by the government since 2017, with previous committees led by Wale Babalakin in 2017, Munzali Jubril in 2020, and Nimi Briggs in 2022.

The joint statement of SSANU and NASU read, “The event appeared to have been primarily focused on ASUU with the other unions seemingly included as an afterthought as the Honourable Minister of Education’s inauguration speech centred almost entirely on ASUU, with only brief and cursory mentions of the other unions.

“To confirm our fears, at the venue of the inauguration, the two unions witnessed a most humiliating experience where the President of ASUU was placed on what was referred to as the “Responsibility table” and the presidents of other unions looked on from their positions of “irresponsibility”.

“From the proceeding, it was obvious that NASU and SSANU were only invited as mere spectators to give a semblance of legitimacy and acceptability to an already concluded renegotiation exercise. The President of ASUU alone was invited to give a response on behalf of other unions without consultation and he ended up speaking on behalf of his union this clearly showed that the opinions and experiences of other unions do not matter in the renegotiation.

“The proceedings of the entire inauguration have clearly shown the imbalance of relationship and the obvious unfair treatment that would be meted out to NASU and SSANU if the renegotiation process continues in this manner.

“Consequently, the JAC of NASU and SSANU condemns the entire charade that took place in the name of an inauguration, as it signals a potential bias in favour of academic staff in the upcoming negotiations, to the detriment of non-teaching staff and therefore expresses our misgivings about the process of the inauguration.”

Meanwhile, the leadership of the Congress of University Academics has demanded the inclusion of its representatives on the re-negotiation committee.

In a letter signed by the CONUA National President, Dr Niyi Sunmonu and addressed to the Minister of Education, Prof Tahir Mamman, dated Monday, October 14, 2024, the union asked that an invitation be immediately extended to CONUA, with a view to including university-based staff.

The letter read, “The union, for the umpteenth time, was taken aback that issues concerning its members, which was hitherto (before CONUA registration and legal status) represented by the only academic union at that time, will be discussed without extending an invitation to CONUA.

“The implication of this oversight is that the Federal Ministry of Education is deliberately sidelining a registered academic Union and jeopardizing its interest and that of its membership across Nigerian Universities.

“In addition, this is tantamount to shaving the heads of CONUA members in absence, as whatever is agreed upon at such a meeting will have a direct bearing on the membership.

“We therefore, as a registered academic staff union and a major stakeholder within the university system, demand that an invitation letter be extended to CONUA where all issues relating to the re-negotiation of the 2009 agreement will be thoroughly discussed and CONUA’S voice will be taken on board.”