The National Industrial Court in Abuja has approved the registration of the Union Congress Of University Academics CONUA and the Nigeria Association of Medical and Dental Academics, NAMDA as trade unions as the court dismissed the suit filed by the Academic Staff Union of University ASUU.
The court has declared the two newly formed bodies legal after several trials by ASUU challenging their registration.
We can recall that last year in October after the lingering strike by the Academic Staff Union University, the Federal Government through the Minister of Labour Chris Ngige handed out certificates of registration to CONUA and NAMDA, allowing them to coexist with ASUU.
However, since then, ASUU has dragged the Government to court, querying its decision to create an alternative to them.
On Tuesday, the Federal High Court in Abuja brought the matter to an end, reaffirming the registration of the newly-formed unions, while dismissing the complainer.
According to the President of the National Industrial Court, Justice Benedict Kanyip, said Section 27 of the Trade Union Act allows for more than one trade union in employment.
The judge also noted that while filing the suit, ASUU has interchangeably referred to NAMDA as the National Association of Medical and Dental Academics instead of the Nigeria Association of Medical and Dental Academics.