As the controversy between the federal government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) nears its eighth month, the government has moved to replace the union with its breakaway faction.

Daily Trust reports that Congress of Nigerian University Academics (CONUA), a breakaway faction of ASUU, has been officially registered as a trade union in a move to reopen academic activities in public universities.

According to the report, a source at the Ministry of Labour and Employment had revealed on Tuesday, that the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, will present a Certificate of Registration to the new union before the end of the day.

It was also reported that Ngige also issued certificates of recognition to National Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA).

Nigerian public universities have been on strike for seven months now. The striking academic workers under ASUU are demanding better welfare packages and funding among others for the universities.

The source said that the move by the government to recognize CONUA is part of processes to deregister ASUU as the newly registered body would represent Nigerian academics in discussions with the Buhari regime as a full-fledged labor union.

”The Minister, on behalf of the federal government will today present Certificate of Registration to the Congress of Nigerian University Academics (CONUA). With that, ASUU may cease to exist again in our universities,” the source said.

Repeatedly, ASUU and the federal government have failed to settle their differences. The bone of contention has been funding and the use of the union’s University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) instead of the government’s mandated Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) for salary payment.

In an attempt to reopen the schools, the federal government had previously deployed a no-work no-pay policy but it was defied by the ASUU. In September, the government threatened to deregister ASUU as a trade union over its alleged failure to submit its audited reports as required by law in the past five years. The Registrar of Trade Unions was said to have written a query to the ASUU, asking why its certificate of registration should not be withdrawn for breaking the law.

In a further attempt to force the striking workers back to work, the government last month filed a lawsuit against ASUU at the National Industrial Court and won. The court, in an interlocutory ruling ordered the union to discontinue the ongoing strike until the suit is determined, citing education as a matter of national interest.

But ASUU appealed the judgment, praying for the stay of execution of the trial court’s ruling pending the hearing and determination of the interlocutory Appeal.

Government’s move to create a new academic union in the stead of ASUU appears like its final resort to solve the lingering crisis. The government has repeatedly said that it does not have the money to meet the N1.2 trillion that ASUU is demanding, and it’s also not willing to change its stance on the mandated use of IPPIS.

However, there is concern that this move will further complicate the matter as ASUU would likely seek a redress in court. Also, it will severely deplete the quality of education and the academic workforce of Nigerian public universities that is already below par.

The Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) has sued Meta Platforms Incorporated, owners of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp platforms, for showing unapproved advertisements to the Nigerian audience.

In a statement it released on Tuesday, ARCON has confirmed that Meta together with its agent, AT3 Resources Limited has been charged for its negligence that has caused the Nigerian Government huge loses in the suit filed before the federal high court in Abuja.

In the lawsuit ARCON is seeking N30billion in sanction for the violation of the advertising laws and for loss of revenue as a result of Meta Incorporated’s continued exposure of unapproved adverts on its platforms,” the statement reads.

According to the Punch, the the apex regulatory body for Nigeria’s advertising ecosystem, ARCON is seeking a declaration that the continued publication and exposure of various advertisements directed at the Nigerian market through Facebook and Instagram platforms by Meta Platforms Incorporated without ensuring same is vetted and approved before exposure is illegal, unlawful and a violation of the extant advertising Law in Nigeria.

The cable also reported that the Nigerian advertising regulatory agency decried the continued exposure of the “unvetted” adverts which has led to a “loss of revenue to the federal government”. The agency reaffirms it would not permit unethical and irresponsible advertising on Nigeria’s advertising space.

According to ARCON, the Council is not regulating the online media space. Rather, it’s focus is on advertising and marketing communications on the online platforms in line with its establishment Act, the punch reported.

American tech companies are giving up efforts to stay afloat in China amidst censorship that has made their operations difficult.

On Monday, Google announced that it has shut down its Google Translate service in mainland China due to low usage, marking the end of one of its last remaining products in the South Asian country.

CNBC reports that the dedicated mainland China website for Google Translate now redirects users to the Hong Kong version of the service – but it is not accessible from mainland China.

“We are discontinuing Google Translate in mainland China due to low usage,” Google said in a statement.

Late last year, LinkedIn, the only American-based social media company allowed in China, announced that it’s shutting down its services due to growing censorship that had severely limited users’ freedom of expression.

This is the trajectory for American tech companies not outrightly banned in China, giving equivalent Chinese companies the opportunity to thrive.

CNBC noted that, like others, Google has had a fraught relationship with the Chinese market. For instance, in 2010, the tech giant pulled its search engine from China in because of strict government censorship online. Its other services — such as Google Maps and Gmail — are also effectively blocked by the Chinese government.

Local competitors such as search engine Baidu and social media and gaming giant Tencent have capitalized on the gap to dominate the Chinese internet landscape in areas from search to translation.

Google’s attempts to penetrate the Chinese market had met a brick wall due to the country’s strict rules and free speech advocates calling on tech companies not to enable China’s censorship by playing by their muzzling rules. CNBC reports below how in addition to censorship, the US – China soured relationship is adding to the ordeal of US tech companies in China.

Google has a very limited presence in China these days. Some of its hardware including smartphones are made in China. But The New York Times reported last month that Google has shifted some production of its Pixel smartphones to Vietnam.

The company is also looking to try to get Chinese developers to make apps for its Android operating system globally that will then be available via the Google Play Store, even though that’s blocked in China.

In 2018, Google was exploring reentering China with its search engine, but ultimately scrapped that project after backlash from employees and politicians.

American businesses have been caught in the middle of continued tensions in the technology sphere between the U.S. and China. Washington continues to fret over China’s potential access to sensitive technologies in areas such as artificial intelligence and semiconductors.

In August, U.S. chipmaker Nvidia disclosed that Washington will restrict the company’s sales of specific components to China.