FG Considers Merging ASUU, SSANU, NASU Into One Union

The Federal Govern­ment has begun moves to bring all unions within the university system under one single entity, according to the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Com­mission (NUC), Professor Abubakar Rasheed.

Professor Rasheed said the polarisation of the universi­ty system, where each of the unions comes up with its in­dividual demands to the Fed­eral Government had made it difficult for the government to accede to their demands.

He noted that this was why university education in Nigeria could not match the academic standards of their peers abroad.

He disclosed this while speaking as a special guest at the 2nd Quadrennial National Delegates Conference of Se­nior Staff Association of Ni­gerian Universities (SSANU) in Abuja on Monday.

According to him, talks were on to convince the lead­ership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to invite all the various unions to a round­table discussion on why they needed to come under one umbrella.

The unions expected to key into the new proposal are the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Non-Ac­ademic Staff Union of Uni­versities (NASU), the Nation­al Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) and the Senior Staff Association of Ni­gerian Universities (SSANU).

He argued that there was a need for the unions to enter into negotiations with the gov­ernment with one accord.

While appealing to the conscience of the unions, the NUC scribe said it was regret­table that most times govern­ment and individual unions locked horns while negotiat­ing better welfare packages for staff at the detriment of students.

He said: “No university in the world can operate effective­ly in isolation; it is frustrating that the university system in Nigeria has been polarised by various unions; you have NAAT, ASUU, SSANU – all ne­gotiating for different things.

“Most times, while one group is negotiating with gov­ernment, others are warming up for strike unless their de­mands are met.”

Rasheed also disclosed that the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, has secured the approval of President Mu­hammadu Buhari to dispatch visitation panels to all public universities in Nigeria.

He explained that the need arose following the ugly in­cidents that trailed the Uni­versity of Lagos, where the Pro-Chancellor, Wale Baba­lakin, had ordered the sack of the former Vice Chancellor, Oluwatoyin Ogundipe