Nation
Supreme Court Didn’t Grant ASUSS Registration -NUT
The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has denied that the Supreme Court in its judgement of January 15, 2021, granted secondary school teachers operating under the umbrella of Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS), power to operate as a trade union.
The apex court’s judgement which was the result of a legal suit between NUC and ASUSS, according to the former, had made clear pronouncement that ASUSS was not registrable as a trade union.
It would be recalled that a group of some secondary school teachers, led by one Mr. Samuel Omaji, had claimed to have obtained the court’s judgment to unionize secondary school teachers in the country.
Addressing the media at its national headquarters, Abuja, yesterday, NUT insisted that contrary to the claim of ASUSS that it was granted registration, Supreme Court never granted such order.
Reading the text of the briefing, titled: ”NUT vs ASUSS: Putting the Record Straight”, President of NUT, Dr. Nasir Idris, through his representative and Deputy National President of NUT, Kelvin Nwankwo, said the claim of ASUSS was not only strange but also unfounded.
“The national leadership of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) unequivocally lay bare and throw light on the deliberate mischief, misinterpretation and falsehood being circulated on various print and electronic media and blog platforms: that the Supreme Court on the 15th January, 2021 delivered judgment granting secondary school teachers a new trade union known as Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS); which is rather strange and unfounded.
“May we promptly state that ASUSS is not registrable as a trade union,” NUT said.
NUT explained that, “To the best of our knowledge, the subject matter on appeal is ASUSS vs NUT, which was before the Supreme Court bothering on the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court to grant the restraining order sought by the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) against the Minister of Labour and Productivity to unilaterally register a trade union contrary to the provisions of Ss. 3(2), 5 (4) of the Trade Union Act CAP. T14 LFN 2004.”
The text read further, “The contest of the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court to hear the Suit of Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) vs Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS) was upheld by the Federal High Court Abuja, which was appealed by the ASUSS to the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court, respectively.
“The learned Lords of the Supreme Court per His Lordship Chima Centus Nweze, JSC in his lead Judgment held: ‘Under the doctrine of stare decisis, we are bound by these decisions. It follows therefore, that in the instant case, where His Lordship E. Ekanem, JCA, who did not participate in the hearing of the appeal, rendered a judgment thereon, the lower court, in so far as the panel that delivered the judgment was different from the panel that heard the appeal, was incompetent.
“The appeal is therefore allowed. The judgment delivered on 9/6/2014 is a nullity and must be and is hereby set aside. Appeal No. CA/A/256/09 shall be remitted to the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, to be heard by a different panel of that court.”
According to NUT, “The group of secondary school teachers led by Mr. Samuel Omaji making a hollow, deceptive and false claim to have obtained judgment to unionize secondary school teachers is reckless, complete falsehood and extraneous to the decisions of the Supreme Court, as well as and other relevant Labour Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The NUT said the Federal Ministry of Labour had confirmed to it through correspondences that ASUSS was not registrable hence its position.
“A trade union or association which has not been finally registered and certificated by the Registrar of Trade Union even though it might have concluded most of the process required to obtain registration hold no claim of being a union,” NUT insisted.
“With this provision of the Trade Union Act, we call on all teachers of secondary schools in Nigeria to disregard the baseless claim by ASUSS as no such matter of membership of Secondary School Teachers was before the Supreme Court and the Status of NUT in unionizing teachers of primary and secondary schools remains sacrosanct and backed by the Jurisdictional Scope of trade unions as contained in the Trade Union Act CAP T.14 LFN 2004 cited above,” it advised.
Noting that it would clock 90 years of trade union practice by July, 2021, the NUT said, “The leaders in the spirit of leadership have been mutually rotating her apex leadership’s position between the secondary and primary schools teachers.
“This notwithstanding, record has it that out of 15 presidents of our great union, only two had been selected from the primary school arm, while the others were drawn from secondary schools arm.
“The NUT is enjoying a robust spirit of comradeship where we peruse the welfare of our members and better conditions of service, but not which arm of the teaching industry do you belong.
“The NUT has no founder and no joiner, we have one teaching profession to build and protect little wonder in 1993 and teachers in Nigeria embarked on a nationwide protracted strike to press home the establishment of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), to regulate our noble teaching profession for all the Nigerian teachers,” it said.
The text further read, “The great NUT for over a decade had achieved the 27.5% Teachers Peculiar Allowances for teachers in Nigeria, which the teachers of Nigeria have been enjoying, including the so-called members of ASUSS, who have continued to reap where they did not sow.
“So far, the NUT is contemplating putting to a stop the parasitic roles of the so called ASUSS, who continue to enjoy the negotiated benefits of the NUT even when they endlessly sabotage our efforts in achieving them, what a paradox?
“The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) will by no means be distracted from her several pursuits of the actualization of all the welfare needs of our members in the primary and secondary schools in Nigeria namely: 65 years retirement or 40 years of service age for teachers, Teachers Professional Salary Structure, Rural Posting Allowances, Subject Special Allowances, National Housing Scheme for teachers, etc in addition to the Annual Presidential Teachers Award that has formed part of annual World Teachers Day program,” it said.
“We urge all well-meaning teachers of secondary schools in Nigeria to remain law abiding and cooperate with the NUT for the prosperity of the teaching profession, education in Nigeria and the current provision of the Trade Union Act and Labour Laws.
“Therefore, we urge all well-meaning diligent and hardworking secondary school teachers, not to fall prey to the media stunts and ill-fated propaganda employed by the drowning leaders of the self-acclaimed ASUSS aimed at deceiving unsuspecting secondary school teachers, into believing that ASUSS is competent to unionize Secondary School teachers when they are not.
“We shall not fail in our obligations of keeping our dear and well-meaning teachers abreast of further development, as we proceed with the litigation.
“The matter is far from being over, as it remains subjudice. No matter how fast and far that the falsehood of ASUSS might have gone, the truth must catch up with it. The facts and the laws of our land are on the side of our great union the NUT”.
The Executive Secretary of the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), Dr Chioma Ejikeme, has reiterated the commitment to service delivery for pensioners.
Ejikeme said this during the Customer Service Week in Abuja, yesterday.
He said that commission had a mandate to deliver good service delivery to the pensioners.
Ejikeme, who was represented by the Director Civil Service Pension Department, Mr Kabir Yusuf, said that the customer service week was important to operations of PTAD.
“Customer service is the support that you give to a customer, whether it is an existing customer or potential customer in the process of delivering or making enquires about a service.
“To be a good customer service representative you need to be knowledgeable, have good attitude and attribute especially to the senior citizens and have empathy,” he said.
Ejikeme said that all PTAD staff had most of the attributes of a good customer representative.
“We provide excellent customer service by going to verify our aged pensioners who cannot do it by themselves anywhere across the country.
“There is a dedicated team that was mandated to go round to confirm the aliveness of those who can not confirm their aliveness either because the are too old or have health issues,” the executive secretary said.
The National Coordinator, SERVICOM, Mrs Nnenna Akajemeli, said that the official theme of the 2024 customer service week was “ We Go Above and Beyond For Our Customers.”
She commended PTAD and the SERVICOM team for organising the 2024 customer service week.
“This is in line with the best practice of celebrating frontline workers and service takers.
“Customer service week is celebrated annually during the first full week in October.
It calls attention to the importance of people to boost morale team work and departmental collaboration in supporting pensioners.
“ It is a platform to reward employees for the significant work they do,” Akajemeli said.
She said that the objective of the customer service week was to celebrate the hard work and dedication of employee who strived to create positive customer experiences.
She said that it was time to show customers that the organisation valued their experience and feedback, through comment cards, dedicated hotline, among others.
Akajemeli said that it raised awareness internally and externally about the importance of good customer service in building customer loyalty and satisfaction.
She said that the benefit was to increase motivation, show appreciation, encourage friendly competition, boost employee retention, create a positive workplace and increase productivity.
The Head, Surveillance Department at the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Mr Abdulrahman Saleem, said that good service delivery was the key success of every establishment.
Salem said that PTAD operated with standard, considering the success it had achieved so far.
Saleem said that pensioners required the best service attitude and behavior.
“ I give kudos to PTAD for its efforts and encourage it to do more.
“Therefore I urge PTAD staff to keep up the standard and continue to give good service to the pensioners,” he said.
The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, has honoured Flying Officer David Sangokoya for winning the 2023/2024 Royal Air Force College Cranwell International Cadet Sword of Honour.
Abubakar honoured the officer during the presentation of cheques to 13 beneficiaries of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Group Personal Accident Insurance Policy (GPAIP) in Abuja, yesterday.
He described the achievement as ground-breaking as it was the first time an African cadet had won the prestigious award since the Academy’s creation over 100 years ago.
According to him, the feat underscores the excellence that exists within NAF, and proof that NAF officers and cadets can stand shoulder to shoulder with the best in the world.
“To our awardee, you have set a new standard, not just for your peers, but for every cadet and officer that will come after you.
“This accomplishment is a powerful reminder that no goal is out of reach when one is armed with dedication, discipline and an unwavering commitment to excellence.
“Your journey as an officer has begun with this prestigious accolade, but the true measure of your success will be seen in how you serve, lead and contribute to the mission of NAF and the defence of our great nation.
“As we celebrate this historic occasion, we extend our deepest gratitude to the United Kingdom Government for its unwavering support in providing world-class training opportunities to our personnel.
“This has enabled our officers and men to gain invaluable skills and knowledge, strengthening not only our bilateral ties but also our collective ability to address global security challenges,” he said.
The CAS said that the NAF looked forward to continuing the fruitful partnership for the mutual benefit of Nigeria and UK countries.
He expressed gratitude and unflinching loyalty to President Bola Tinubu for his commitment to the welfare and training of members of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, and NAF in particular.
“I must also take a moment to extend my heartfelt appreciation to the leadership of the Nigerian Defence Academy and the instructors who helped to mould and prepare this cadet for the global stage.
“Their dedication and commitment to developing top-notch officers is evident in this ground-breaking achievement.
“You have not only trained a leader but have given the Nigerian Air Force a legacy we will all cherish,” he said.
National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has advocated private sector involvement to strengthen Nigeria’s healthcare system.
The Director-General of the authority, Dr Kelechi Ohiri, made the call at a high-level policy dialogue on sustainable health system reforms in Nigeria in Abuja, yesterday.
The Tide’s source reports that the dialogue was organised by the Healthcare Federation of Nigeria (HFN), a coalition of private sector stakeholders, to address the multifaceted challenges plaguing the country’s healthcare system.
The dialogue has “Private Sector Support for SWAP (Sector Wide Approach) in Healthcare” as its theme.
Represented by Dr Yakubu Agada-Amade, the NHIA Director of Standards and Quality Assurance, Ohiri explained the crucial role of private sector collaboration in strengthening Nigeria’s healthcare system
He highlighted the “One Plan” under the SWAp framework, which seeks to unify health sector efforts, ensuring efficient resource use, effective governance and expanded healthcare access.
He also stressed the importance of overcoming barriers that historically hindered the implementation of healthcare interventions in Nigeria, such as inadequate financing, weak governance systems, and bureaucratic bottlenecks.
He added that “the dialogue explored innovative approaches, including digital health innovations and financing mechanisms to accelerate the implementation of the National Health Act and mandatory health insurance coverage.
“With enrollment in health insurance growing by 14 per cent over the past year, NHIA can push for greater inclusivity, particularly targeting the informal sector through flexible payment systems and partnerships with telecommunications companies.”
He called for stronger synergy between public and private health actors to ensure universal access to quality healthcare and sustainable reforms in line with the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative (NHSRII).
Panelists from the Association of Nigerian Private Medical Practitioners (ANPMP), Healthcare Providers Association of Nigeria (HCPAN) and Health and Managed Care Association of Nigeria (HMCAN) echoed the sentiments, underscoring the private sector’s role in expanding insurance coverage and improving healthcare delivery.
They commended NHIA’s efforts toward driving reforms to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) through the Sector-Wide Approach (SWAp).