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According to SAHARA REPORTER, members of the academic staff of the National Center for Technology Management (NACETEM), a research institute in Obafemi Awolowo University, have decried the forceful imposition of a holder of the Higher National Diploma as the acting director general.
The staff members questioned the board’s appointment of Yusuf Abdullah Muhammad as the acting Director General/CEO after the exit of the last DG, Willie Siyanbola. They expressed dismay over the appointment of Mr. Muhammad, whom they described as having no qualification in research or technology, adding that such qualification ought to be requisite.
In a solidarity press conference, the Academic Staff Union of Research Institutions (ASURI) called on the Federal Government to intervene by reversing the appointment in order to save the institution from crisis. The union threatened a series protests at OAU and outside if the government failed to intervene.
“NACETEM is an agency that provides critical knowledge support in the area of science, technology and innovation (STI) management. The agency’s activities span human capacity building, policy research and consultancy services in STI management,” the union said. It criticized the imposition of a DG with no background in either technology administration or in research.
“The Board, in its own wisdom, has nominated Mr. Yusuf Abdullah Muhammad, an administrator and a HND holder in accountancy, to superintend over a research institute that has at least 10 PhD holders and over 30 Masters Degree holders in its fold. Being the most senior in terms of rank, the officer ordinarily would have been made to act. But the peculiarity of the agency’s mandate requires a seasoned academic which the agency has in large supply.”
They also accused the agency’s new board of modifying its statutes in order to clear the way for the appointment of the new acting director, adding that Mr. Muhammad played a role in doctoring the statutes.
ASURI alleged that Mr. Muhammad had introduced some changes into the laws to facilitate his eventual appointment as NACETEM’s substantive DG. The union stated that some of the irregularities that arose from changes made by Mr. Muhammad include composition of the governing board, the requirements for the position of the DG/CEO, the functions and mandates of the agency, and the removal of the power of the agency to award postgraduate certificates and degrees.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a source at the institution disclosed to SAHARA REPORTERS that Mr. Muhammad’s appointment was part of a strategy by a former administrator to cover up some mismanagement and misdeeds at the agency.
The staff members questioned the board’s appointment of Yusuf Abdullah Muhammad as the acting Director General/CEO after the exit of the last DG, Willie Siyanbola. They expressed dismay over the appointment of Mr. Muhammad, whom they described as having no qualification in research or technology, adding that such qualification ought to be requisite.
In a solidarity press conference, the Academic Staff Union of Research Institutions (ASURI) called on the Federal Government to intervene by reversing the appointment in order to save the institution from crisis. The union threatened a series protests at OAU and outside if the government failed to intervene.
“NACETEM is an agency that provides critical knowledge support in the area of science, technology and innovation (STI) management. The agency’s activities span human capacity building, policy research and consultancy services in STI management,” the union said. It criticized the imposition of a DG with no background in either technology administration or in research.
“The Board, in its own wisdom, has nominated Mr. Yusuf Abdullah Muhammad, an administrator and a HND holder in accountancy, to superintend over a research institute that has at least 10 PhD holders and over 30 Masters Degree holders in its fold. Being the most senior in terms of rank, the officer ordinarily would have been made to act. But the peculiarity of the agency’s mandate requires a seasoned academic which the agency has in large supply.”
They also accused the agency’s new board of modifying its statutes in order to clear the way for the appointment of the new acting director, adding that Mr. Muhammad played a role in doctoring the statutes.
ASURI alleged that Mr. Muhammad had introduced some changes into the laws to facilitate his eventual appointment as NACETEM’s substantive DG. The union stated that some of the irregularities that arose from changes made by Mr. Muhammad include composition of the governing board, the requirements for the position of the DG/CEO, the functions and mandates of the agency, and the removal of the power of the agency to award postgraduate certificates and degrees.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a source at the institution disclosed to SAHARA REPORTERS that Mr. Muhammad’s appointment was part of a strategy by a former administrator to cover up some mismanagement and misdeeds at the agency.