Concerns have been raised over the reported re-appointment of Prof. Abdullahi Mustapha as Director-General of the National Biotechnology Research and Development Agency (NBRDA).
His five-year tenure ended on October 27, 2024, but there are conflicting reports regarding his re-appointment, TRIBUNE ONLINE gathered.
The Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Sen. George Akume, had initially conveyed a notice of Mustapha’s reappointment for a second term of five years in a press statement on November 9, 2024, announced by his media aide, Toyin Omozuwa.
However, the SGF’s office later clarified that only President Bola Ahmed Tinubu reserves the prerogative to extend the tenure of the DG and not the SGF.
“The SGF doesn’t make appointments. This is the prerogative and directive of the President,” the office said tersely in Abuja.
This clarification came after a civil society organisation, the Independent Public Service Accountability Watch (IPSAW), demanded that the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) investigate the alleged re-appointment.
IPSAW’s Executive Director, Stephen Eriba, argued that the purported tenure extension does not conform to extant regulations and procedures.
According to IPSAW, the re-appointment contravened the extant regulations issued on December 4, 2017, requiring that a DG ending their tenure should hand over the management of the agency to the next most senior officer.
Findings within the agency have indicated that amid the pressure, the narrative was gradually changed from a letter of an extension of five years to a six-month acting role as DG in favour of Mustapha.
The Academic Staff Union of Research Institutions has also called on President Tinubu to begin the process of appointing a substantive DG for the agency in line with the provisions of Condition of Service for Federal Research and Development Institutions and Colleges (COS 2919).
The union’s National Secretary, Prof Theophilus Ndubuaku, cited Chapter 2 of COS, which addresses the issues of appointments and emoluments, including vacancies in the positions of executive director and DG.
The association emphasised that the recruitment and selection committee should first consider claims of outstanding and meritorious scientists in the institution concerned, who fall within the field selection for recommendation in their order of relative eligibility.
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