Workers of the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER), Ibadan, on Friday staged another peaceful protest to remind Federal Government of their plights.
Expressing their grievances, the worker put the institute’s administrative building and the main vehicular gates of the entrance on lock and key.
However, prior to this protest, the workers over three weeks ago protested the removal of NISER Director-General, Dr Folarin Gbadebo-Smith on the ground that the DG is incompetent and unqualified to head NISER, four years of low research output, absenteeism and conflict interest.
They also alleged four years of financial recklessness, utter disregard for rules, poor staff welfare among others.
The NISER Joint Action Committee (JAC) Chairman, Comrade Babatimehin Muyiwa urged the Minister of Finance Budget and National Planning, Dr Zainab Ahmed and the presidency to intervene immediately.
He noted that the union had in April petitioned the minister and presidency on the matter.
Muyiwa explained that the tenure of Gbadebo-Smith, expired on May 26, 2021and the workers had expected to receive a communication from Federal Government through the supervising Ministry with respect to who should be in the saddle, albeit in acting capacity pending the appointment of a substantive DG.
“We wonder why the government is trying to create a vacuum in the governance of NISER as we patiently waited throughout yesterday and are still waiting for that vital communication.
“Given the foregoing and considering the sensitive nature of the issues at stake as contained in our Petition; JAC-NISER, at an expanded exco meeting of Monday, May 24, resolved to secure vital records of the institute which are mainly resident in the Finance, Accounts, Internal Audit and D.G’s Office, during this interregnum.
“This we did by securely locking up the administrative building as well as the main vehicular gates at the entrance, until further notice,” he said.
According to him, this is in a bid to forestall the possible carting away, destruction, alteration, or falsification of vital documents and potential evidence, until such a time that a definitive response/directive is received from the Federal Government, through the parent Ministry.
“The pedestrian gate shall remain open to human traffic.”
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