OAU ASUU Withdraws From National Body

By Sodiq Lawal

The Academic Staff Union of Universities of Obafemi Awolowo University Chapter (ASUU OAU) has withdrawn from the national body.

It was gathered that a new association was formed following prolonged face-off between the national and local chapter of the union.

The OAU chapter’s decision to pull out of the national body was taken at a congress on February 12, which rejected the resolutions of ASUU’s National Executive Council (ASUU-NEC) meeting on the face-off between it and the parent body.

Our correspondent learnt that the congress decided “to constitute itself into a branch that is totally independent of NEC, adopt appropriate name and open a new branch account for the check-off dues of its members in this regards”

This was contained in the local branch’s resolution signed by the chairman of its caretaker committee, Dr Niyi Sunmonu.

It could be recalled that last years, 732 of the 1,371 OAU academic workers wrote the university management to stop payment of their check-off dues to the national body in protest against the way the latter handled the branch’s crisis.

Other reasons given by OAU’s branch to form a new union include the alleged unilateral removal of the elected treasurer by ASUU national president and the alleged transfer of N11 million from OAU branch account to ASUU national account.

The congress noted that the removal of the duly elected treasurer and transfer of the money prompted majority of the members to request that the deduction of their check-off dues to ASUU national body be stopped.