Having formally registered the unions, the Nigerian government has hence presented certificates of the registration to two more academic unions of universities in Nigeria.
The two new unions are the Nigerian Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA), and the Congress of Nigerian University Academics (CONUA).
“These associations will exist side by side with ASUU in Nigerian universities,” said Mr Ngige, citing the ILO convention.
The government said, with the registration granted the two unions, they were now entitled to all rights and privileges ascribed to unions and would be given access to those rights by the government and university authorities.
While conveying the approval to the leadership of the two unions at a meeting in Abuja yesterday, Ngige said the move would help liberalise the academic sub-sector and make for more freedom for university workers.
The latest ploy by the government is to bring the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to its knees over the almost eight-month-old industrial action that has kept Nigerian students at home throughout the period.