The chairman of the governing board of the centre, Senator Ben Collin was also accused of alleged imposition of Mr. Yusuf Abdullahi Mohammed as the acting director general of the centre despite not being qualified for the post.
It was gathered that of the 17 director generals in all the parastatals under the Ministry of Science and Technology, all except Mr. Mohammed was neither a professor nor a Ph.D holder.
The Chairman of the board, Senator Collins, was alleged to have deliberately bent the rule to accommodate, Mr. Mohammed for the post of director general of the centre, a seat which became vacant in November 2013 after the exit of Dr. W. O. Siyanbola, who served the centre for two terms of eight years.
According to a petition, dated December 10, 2013 and written by the Academic Staff Union of Research Insititution (ASURI), entitled: Save NACETEM from destruction, the union said the development in the centre made it necessary to cry out to well-meaning Nigerians to save the centre from imminent destruction.
The ‘Save Our Souls’ letter signed by the Chairman ASURI, NACETEM branch, Dr. O.. A. Jesuleye, stated that Mr. Mohammed had on assumption of duties in November last year presented a new version of the draft Enabling Law of NACETEM to the governing board.
He disclosed that some of the amendments to the draft Enabling Law included relocation of NACETEM headquarters from Ile-Ife to Abuja, removal of research and training activities from the mandate of NACETEM and removal of Ph.D degree as a prerequisite for the appointment of a director general/chief executive officer of NACETEM.
“ASURI members, therefore, urge Nigerians to prevail on the Federal Government to appoint a qualified person who is versed in the activities of the institute as the acting director general pending the appointment of a substantive director general,” the letter added.
The Ife Youth Vanguard in its letter to the Minister of Science and Technology, urged the supervising minister to reject outrightly the draft enabling law presented to the governing council of the centre by the acting director general.
The letter signed by Messrs Oladimeji Tajudeen and Akintola Jeleel, chairman and secretary respectively of the Vanguard also advised that to forestall any breakdown of law and order, Mr. Mohammed should be asked to proceed on retirement since he had served for eight years as a director, while a competent researcher, with not less than a Ph.D in science and technology be appointed as chief executive officer.
sunnewsonline.com
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