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You’re Free To Operate Like ASUU – Ngige Tells CONUA After Registration

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You're Free To Operate Like ASUU - Ngige Tells CONUA After Registration
Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, presenting the letter of approval to Dr. Niyi Sunmonu on behalf of CONUA on Tuesday.

After presenting a certificate of recognition to the Congress of University Academics (CONUA), the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, urged the new group to operate like the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

The new university based academic union was on Tuesday presented with a Certificate of Registration at the Conference Room of the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

The group has opposed the union’s on-going strike which began on February 14 and has been battling to gain recognition from Federal Government for years now.

Also registered as a trade union is the Nigerian Association of Medical and Dental Academics, NAMDA.

Ngige, who presented the letters and copies of the Trade Union Act to the groups at his office in Abuja said “The Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment in the discharge of her mandate in the management of Employment Relationships and the Administration of Trade Unions to ensure harmonious industrial relations system in the nation has decided to approve the registration of two (2) more Trade Unions in the Nigerian University Academic Sub Sector.”

READ ALSO: Over 10 UNICAL Lecturers Die As ASUU Strike Persists

He said the two unions would operate along with ASUU.

According to the Minister, “The University Sub-Sector is a major development plank of any Nation’s Socio Economic growth. Knowledge they say is Power.

“It may be noted that Section 3(2) of the Trade Unions Act, CAP. T14, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN) 2004 gives the Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment powers to regroup an existing Trade Union of Workers or Employers. The Section under reference states no combination of workers or employers shall be registered as a Trade Union save with the approval of the Minister on his being satisfied that it is expedient to register the Union either by regrouping existing Trade Union. registering a new Trade Union or otherwise howsoever….

“In view of the above, I Senator (Dr.) Chris Nwabueze Ngige, in the exercise of the power conferred on me as the Honourable Minister of Labour & Employment, do hereby approve the registration of Congress of Nigeria University Academics (CONUA), and Nigeria Association of Medical & Dental Lecturers in Academics (NAMDA)

“These Associations will exist side by side with ASUU in the Nigerian Universities in the spirit and tenets of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Core Convention nos. 87 & 98 which are respectively on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise, and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining; as well as the enthronement”

The minister decried that classrooms in the nation’s public universities have been shut and students kept at home by the strike action of ASUU despite a series of engagements to resolve the trade dispute by the Federal Government.

READ ALSO: UNIBEN Worker Commits Suicide As Hardship Bites Over Non-payment

He said, “In line with the provisions of the Trade Disputes Act, CAP. TS, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, this strike was apprehended & conciliations were done in this Ministry on February 22, 2022, and March 1, 2022.

“However, all efforts at conciliation failed resulting in the transmission of the trade dispute to the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) for adjudication in line with the statutory trade dispute resolution processes.

“At the NICN, an Interlocutory Injunction Order was obtained asking the Union to get back to work while the substantive suit is being heard; an order ASUU leadership and members refused to obey. Interestingly, a lot of university teachers in the public universities had indicated their willingness to get back to work while negotiations continue.”

Ngige said the two unions applied for registration since 2018 due to irreconcilable differences as they do not believe in recurring strikes as the solution to every welfare agitation.

“They also accused the ASUU executive of non- rendition of account of Incomes and Expenditure for years. The Ministry of Labour and Employment set up a committee to look into the merit of their application. The committee saw merit in the application and recommended approval for the registration of the Association by the Registrar of Trade Unions (RTU) since 2020. But for the advent of COVID-19 pandemic and the recurring ASUU strike, this would have been done.

“NAMDA, Like their colleagues in CONUA, they had applied for Registration as Medical Teachers in the University system under various groups.

“They include those medical doctors doing pre-clinical teaching of basic medical courses and honorary consultants teaching clinical students in.”

READ ALSO: ASUU Strike: How Are Lecturers Surviving?

Ngige disclosed that the new unions will be entitled to all rights and privileges accruing to such academic associations including but not limited to receiving check off dues of their members in accordance with Section 17 of the Trade Unions Act, membership in the Nigerian University Pension Management Company Limited (NUPEMCO) and being on CONUAS Salary Structure/Scheme.

“They are equally entitled to Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) and all other allowances attached thereto.”

While receiving the letter of approval on behalf of the union, CONUA National Cordinator, Dr. ‘Niyi Sunmonu described the registration of the body as historic.

Dr. Sunmonu in a statement said, “The registration of the Congress of University Academics (CONUA), as a Trade Union in the Nigerian university system, is monumentally historic.

“The hurdles we have faced to get here, since 2018 when we submitted our application for registration, have been seemingly insurmountable. The registration is therefore the validation of the power of the human will. It asserts the value of courage, initiative, focus, tenacity, patience, forbearance and persistent positive thinking.

“We are immensely grateful to the Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, and his team of diligent staff for insisting on merit, due process and thoroughness all through the processing of our application for the registration of CONUA.

“The very strict and dispassionate review of our application brought out the best in the membership of the Union.

“We regard the registration of CONUA as a sacred trust, and pledge to reciprocate by devoting ourselves unceasingly to the advancement of university education in this country. We would make the details of our programmes available to the public in due course.”

He further said, “We are also deeply grateful to the numerous personalities and well-wishers whose good counsel and concrete actions have facilitated the success we have witnessed today. We believe in the saying that to whom much is given, much is expected. We would therefore constantly strive to make them all proud of CONUA.

“We appreciate the entire membership of the Union for believing in the righteousness of the CONUA cause and for believing in the leadership of the Union, and thereby remaining salutarily steadfast, even when disconcerting and demoralising situations arose.

“In this journey, the invaluable role of the media cannot be discounted. We are truly grateful to the media, and look forward to further mutually beneficial interactions as we strive for the development of this nation.”

He gave the assurance that they would work to ensure that the nation is not traumatised again by academic union dislocations in the country’s public universities.

“Above all, we are absolutely grateful to Almighty God for granting us this grace.”

Public universities in the country have been shut down since February,14, ASUU proceeded on one- month warning strike.

 

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Why We Won’t Congratulate Oborevwori On Delta Gubernatorial Victory – Deta APC

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URS Congratulates Omo-Agege, Oborevwori On Becoming Governorship Candidates
Omo-Agege and Oborevwori

The Delta All Progressives Congress, (APC), Campaign Council will not congratulate Sheriff Oborevwori on his winning the state gubernatorial election.

To the APC, Oborevwori’s victory at the gubernatorial election held on 18 March, as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is false and thus it stands rejected.

In a statement, Director, Communications and Media Strategy of the council, Ima Niboro, said that Oborevwori’s victory would be overturned by the sheer weight of evidence against it.

The candidate of the PDP, Sheriff Oborevwori, was on Monday, declared winner of the election by INEC.

Mr Oborevwori polled a total of 360,234 votes to defeat his closest opponent, Ovie Omo-Agege of the APC who scored 240,229 votes.

The APC campaign council said it has evidence that the process was characterised by irregularities and that the people of the state were denied the right to freely expressed their will.

“We have an entire arsenal of evidence showing the disenfranchisement of the people, non use of, and tampering with BVAS machines, declaring double results at polling units, issuing of fake result sheets to agents and uploading cooked up results into the BVAS.

“We also have evidence of widespread vote suppression, voter intimidation, thuggery and violence against our supporters. The PDP was at its worst during the election: wickedly denying the people of their will freely expressed at the polls.

“Look at the streets of Delta today. It is gloom everywhere. Our people are wearing long, mournful faces. No sign of jubilation anywhere. Our streets would have been throbbing with life, song and dance, were this the will of the people.This rape of the will of the people will not stand. It must not be allowed to stand,” it said

“We call on our party faithful and supporters to remain calm. Weeping may endure for the night, but joy cometh in the morning,” it said.

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BREAKING: INEC Declares Oborevwori As Delta Governor-elect

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Oborevwori Delta PDP Governorship Candidate
Sheriff Oborevwori

The Speaker of Delta State, Sheriff Oborevwori, on Monday afternoon got official recognition by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the winner of last Saturday election.

Oborevwori polled 360,234 votes to defeat the candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege.

Omo-Agege scored 240,229 votes while the Labour Party candidate, Kennedy Pela came a distant third with 48,047

Declaring the result at the state Collation Centre in Asaba, Returning Officer in the election, Prof. Abraham Georgewill Owunari said Oborevwori “having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared winner and returned elected.”

The PDP candidate won in 21 out of the 25 local government areas of the state, leaving Omo-Agege with only four.

A summary of the scores of the political parties are as follow:

Registered voters – 3,221,697
Accredited voters – 710,829

Accord – 930

AA – 66

ADC – 1,482

ADP – 1,081

APC – 240,229

APGA – 11,021

APM – 937

APP – 198

BP – 162

LP – 48,047

NNPP – 791

NRM – 612

PDP – 360,234

PRP -54

SDP – 4,639

YPP – 484

ZLP – 303

VALID votes – 671,737
REJECTED voted – 15,384
TOTAL votes cast – 687,121

Scores in each council by the three leading parties

Ika North-East LGA

Registered voters – 131,945
Accredited voters – 34,807

APC – 4,733
LP – 1,990
PDP – 26,760

Valid votes – 33,807
Rejected votes – 918
Total votes cast – 34,725

Aniocha North LGA

Registered voters – 89,010
Accredited voters – 16,846

APC – 4,386
LP – 1,883
PDP – 8,938

Valid votes – 16,316
Rejected votes – 530
Total votes cast -16,846

Ndokwa East LGA

Registered voters – 86,208
Accredited voters – 20,434

APC – 9,044
LP – 251
PDP – 10,146

Valid votes – 19,843
Rejected votes – 485
Total votes cast – 20,328

Ika South LGA

Registered voters — 100,599
Accredited voters – 27,800

APC – 6,790
LP – 4,495
PDP – 15,283

Valid votes – 27,149
Rejected votes – 651
Total votes cast – 27,800

Patani LGA

Registered voters – 49,385
Accredited voters – 11,421

APC – 4,743
LP – 85
PDP – 6,069

Valid votes – 11,183
Rejected votes – 238
Total votes cast – 11,421

Udu LGA

Registered voters – 143,769
Accredited voters – 26,908

APC – 13,154
LP – 1,886
PDP – 9,746

Valid votes – 26,141
Rejected votes – 575
Total votes cast – 26,716

Sapele LGA

Registered voters – 145,024
Accredited voters – 30,983

APC – 12,090
LP – 1,458
PDP – 15,217

Valid votes – 29,815
Rejected votes – 957
Total votes cast – 30,772

Aniocha South LGA

Registered voters – 100,424
Accredited voters – 21,149

APC – 4,622
LP – 5,107
PDP – 10,032

Valid votes – 20,468
Rejected votes – 603
Total votes cast – 21,071

Uvwie LGA

Registered voters – 191,215
Accredited voters – 31,188

APC – 12,389
LP – 6,340
PDP – 9,776

Valid votes – 30,263
Rejected votes – 925
Total votes cast – 31,188

Okpe LGA

Registered voters – 117,111
Accredited voters – 25,724

APC – 8,679
LP – 1,155
PDP – 14,544

Valid votes – 25,027
Rejected votes – 691
Total votes cast – 25,718

Bomadi LGA

Registered voters – 103,261
Accredited voters – 17,946

APC – 4,728
LP – 100
PDP – 12,340

Valid votes – 17,559
Rejected votes – 379
Total votes cast – 17,938

Ethiope East LGA

Registered voters – 115,003
Accredited voters – 30466

APC – 11,600
LP – 350
PDP – 13,030

Valid votes – 27,814
Rejected votes – 805
Total votes cast – 28,619

Oshimili North LGA

Registered voters – 103,657
Accredited voters – 45,834

APC – 5,327
LP – 2,983
PDP – 35,966

Valid votes – 45,368
Rejected votes – 455
Total votes cast – 45,823

Warri South LGA

Registered voters – 187,140
Accredited voters – 32,959

APC – 11,569
LP – 3,743
PDP – 15,299

Valid votes – 31,768
Rejected votes – 982
Total votes cast – 32,750

Oshimili South LGA

Registered voters – 194,468
Accredited voters – 39,028

APC – 4,763
LP – 10,148
PDP – 23,149

Valid votes – 38,530
Rejected votes – 493
Total votes cast – 39,023

Isoko North LGA

Registered voters – 144,092
Accredited voters – 28,848

APC – 10,811
LP – 894
PDP – 15,899

Valid votes – 28,332
Rejected votes – 503
Total votes cast – 28,835

Ughelli South LGA

Registered voters – 136362
Accredited voters – 36136

APC – 15,620
LP – 571
PDP – 15,513

Valid votes – 34,820
Rejected votes – 574
Total votes cast – 35,394

Ethiope West LGA

Registered voters – 110,931
Accredited voters – 14,995

APC – 6,758
LP – 304
PDP – 7065

Valid votes – 14,374
Rejected votes – 452
Total votes cast – 14,826

Ughelli North LGA

Registered voters – 223,083
Accredited voters – 55,130

APC – 34,955
LP – 1,438
PDP – 15,198

Valid votes – 53,232
Rejected votes – 1,453
Total votes cast – 54,685

Isoko South LGA

Registered voters – 140,822
Accredited voters – 38,902

APC – 15,954
LP – 492
PDP – 19,963

Valid votes – 38,109
Rejected votes – 528
Total votes cast – 38,637

Ukwuani LGA

Registered voters – 89,658
Accredited voters – 24,108

APC – 7,591
LP – 791
PDP – 14,640

Valid votes – 23,596
Rejected votes – 485
Total votes cast – 24,081

Ndokwa West LGA

Registered voters – 104,574
Accredited voters – 27,883

APC – 10,252
LP – 935
PDP – 15,539

Valid votes – 26,989
Rejected votes – 536
Total votes cast – 27,525

Warri North LGA

Registered voters – 110,363
Accredited voters – 15,494

APC – 4,165
LP – 250
PDP – 10,367

Valid votes – 15,139
Rejected votes – 355
Total votes cast – 15,494

Burutu LGA

Registered voters – 112,867
Accredited voters – 25,627

APC – 11,736
LP – 123
PDP – 12,641

Valid votes – 24,962
Rejected votes – 564
Total votes cast – 25,526

Warri South-West LGA

Registered voters – 190,456
Accredited voters – 30,213

APC – 3,770
LP – 140
PDP – 7,114

Valid votes – 11,133
Rejected votes – 247
Total voters cast – 11,380

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BREAKING: PDP Chairman Beaten To Coma Dies

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Peter Nweke

Peter Nweke, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman in Ezza North local government area, beaten to coma, is dead.

Nweke died from injuries he sustained from attacks by hoodlums suspected to be political thugs on Saturday during the Governorship and Assembly elections.

Police spokesperson, Onome Onovwakpoyeya confirmed the death of Nweke on Sunday.

She said Nweke was beaten up and rushed to the hospital unconscious where he was later pronounced dead by a doctor.

The police officer said the police had launched an investigation into the death with a view to arresting and prosecuting anyone responsible.

Nweke’s younger brother, Samson Nweke also confirmed the death.

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