Crisis persists at agric council over staff promotion

The ongoing crisis at the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN) over staff promotion has shifted to the National Assembly, sources told our reporter.

Secretary General of the Non Academic Staff Union (NASU) at the council, Mr Gambo Bissallah narrated that trouble started when senior staff vying for higher positions were demanded to provide higher qualifications of PhD, as condition for promotion, which is not in their condition of service.

Gambo revealed that they were not aware how the matter got to the National Assembly, adding that since it’s an internal dispute, it was the responsibility of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) to solve the matter and not the National Assembly.

Another source at the council, who craved for anonymity, revealed that some staff of the council were summoned to appear before an investigative panel on Monday 20th November.

He confirmed that retirement age for staff was sixty years, however the Acting Executive Secretary, Professor A.A. Voh turned sixty five this November.

He expressed dismay over what he expressed as poor leadership qualities of the Acting Executive Secretary, thus calling for his immediate removal and replacement by the mother ministry.

Office of the Executive Secretary has since been closed over the crisis pending resolution by the ministry.