By COLLINS YAKUBU-HAMMER

The three unions in the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN) have protested against the management’s alleged violation of Public Service Rules, non-payment of claims and wrongful deployment.

The unions include the Academic Staff Union of Research Institutions (ASURI), Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and Senior Staff Association of Universities, Teaching Hospitals, Research Institutions (SSAUTHRIAI).

The protesters on Friday blocked the entrance to the council, carrying placards with inscriptions such as “Stop Negative Precedence and victimisation of women”, “Pay Staff Claims”, “We Say No to Victimisation and Harassment”, among others.

The Chairman of ASURI, Mr Egberuare Timothy, said the protest was to address certain abnormalities in the institute.

“We are protesting maladministration, embezzlement, and non-payment of staff claims. Look at our environment; it’s looking unkempt.

“We are faulting the executive secretary’s deployment of staff without following the due process and victimisation.

“That is not the kind of system we want in this organisation. So, that’s why we are saying no to any misconduct involving the executive secretary.”

Similarly, the branch Chairman of NASU, Mr Napoleon Ocheja, said the congress was demanding that the chief executive should explain to them certain decisions taken that violated the public service rules.

“We are equally demanding that the chief executive should reverse those decisions in the interest of the organisation and for the betterment of the staff.

“Approval of certain decision supposed to come from the minister before it could be effected, especially deployment of a management member.

“Also, we don’t have Special Duty on our organogram that a management staff should be deployed to. So, all we are asking is the attention of our chief executive to come and address the staff.

“We have equally written and we are calling on the attention of the Ministers of Agriculture and Food Security to intervene, because we want sanity here. That is our simple demand.”

He explained that they wanted things to be done with extant rule.

“We wouldn’t want things to be done without respect to extant rule and public service rules, Ocheja stressed.

“The executive secretary should lead us with respect and compliance to the civil service rules. Those are our demands.

Also, the Chairman of SSAUTHRIAI, Mr Mansur Suleiman, said the unions had engaged the executive secretary on his dealings with staff, issues of welfare, training, and other matters.

“All we just want is his attention. He should come and address the staff and our grievances. That is all we want”.

Meanwhile, in his reactions, the Executive Secretary of ARCN, Dr Abubakar Danban, commended the staff and appealed for calm.

He pledged to look into their demands and requested for a dialogue with them to address the issues raised.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) gathered that during the meeting with the unions, Daban granted some of the union’s requests and demanded for further deliberations on some of the demands. (NAN)

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