The joint workers’ unions of the Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN) have appealed to President Bola Tinubu to reassess the appointment of the institute’s Director-General, Dr. Zachariah Yaduma, citing concerns about his qualifications.
The unions claim that the appointment process was flawed and that former President Muhammadu Buhari was misled into approving it.
The unions made the call during a joint congress held on Monday at the institute’s headquarters in Ibadan.
The protesting unions include the Senior Staff Association of Universities, Teaching Hospitals, Research Institutes and Allied Institutions (SSAUTHRIAI), FRIN branch; the Academic Staff Union of Research Institutions (ASURI); and the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU).
Addressing members, Mr. Japhel Omolaiye, Chairman of SSAUTHRIAI at FRIN, said the unions had previously declared a strike over the issue but suspended it following the Minister of Environment’s intervention and call for negotiations.
He stated that the purpose of the congress was to update members and outline the unions’ next steps.
Omolaiye alleged that a misleading recommendation letter was attached to the DG’s appointment documents, which were forwarded to former President Buhari for approval in 2023.
“The appointment claimed Prof. Zachariah Yaduma was recommended, but our findings show he is neither a research professor nor an academic professor,” Omolaiye said. “The Act establishing FRIN mandates that the Director-General must be a research professor. The current DG does not meet this requirement. We are still baffled as to how this was overlooked.”
He urged President Tinubu to thoroughly review the DG’s credentials and ensure compliance with the law.
Omolaiye encouraged staff to remain committed to their duties, assuring them that the matter was now being handled at the national level by union leaders.
Also speaking, Mrs. Rebecca Adetona, Chairperson of NASU, emphasised that full implementation of the FRIN Establishment Act would resolve many of the institution’s challenges, including the eligibility of the DG.
When contacted, the institute’s Head of Media, Mrs. Nike Ogunbiyi, told NAN she was not authorised to comment.
NAN reports that on 14 April, the unions locked the gates to both the institute and the Federal College of Forestry, Ibadan, in protest, demanding Yaduma’s removal.
