By John Dike Osogbo
The Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools Nigeria (ASUSS) has criticised the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), as an umbrella organisation of hypocrisy over its stance on workers’ right to freedom of association.
The reaction followed a five-point communiqué released by the NLC on July 4, 2025, in which the congress decried what it termed “a growing trend whereby some employers willfully violate the Trade Union Act 2025 with respect to the right of workers to join the union of their choice.”
ASUSS, in a statement jointly signed by its National President, Comrade Sola Adigun, and the Secretary-General, Comrade Kenneth Chukwudi Okoh said it was “amusing and contradictory” that such a position could come from the NLC, which has for nearly two decades opposed the registration and operation of ASUSS.
“It is ironic that the same NLC, which leads Nigerian workers annually attending ILO conferences championing voluntarism and freedom of association, pretending to defend the very rights it has continuously denied Secondary School teachers in Nigeria,” the statement said.
ASUSS reminded the public that the NLC remains the second claimant in a legal action filed as far back as May 2008 to stop the completion of formal registration of the Secondary Schools Teachers’ Union, a case that has since passed through all levels of Nigeria’s judicial system.
The union alleged that at some point during the prolonged litigation, the NLC offered an end to the suit on the condition that ASUSS would affiliate with the NLC rather than the Trade Union Congress (TUC), which it said confirms a self-serving interest.
“This exposes the fact that the issue is not legality but that of control. The NLC is clearly more interested in monopoly than in promoting democratic labour practices,” the union added.
ASUSS called on the Federal Government, under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to take decisive action by issuing the union a certificate of registration in line with Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the Trade Union Act, and Nigeria’s ILO obligations.
The union also urged the Ministry of Labour and Employment to facilitate an end to this oppression describing the prolonged denial of registration as an injustice to thousands of Secondary School teachers across the country who wish to freely associate with ASUSS.
“The world must see how a labour centre that has chaired international committees still chooses to oppress a fellow worker’s union at home,” the statement read. “Enough is enough.”
ASUSS reaffirmed its commitment to the development of education in the country without compromising the advancement of the welfare and professional dignity of Secondary School teachers. It warned against continued internal suppression within the organised labour space.
