By Our Correspondent
Academic Staff Union of University Research Institute of Nigeria (ASURI) on Thursday protested the non-release of condition and scheme of service for researchers in Nigeria.
The Secretary General of ASURI Prof. Theophilus Ndubuaku while addressing the press on Thursday said it is on heard of that a country with over two million citizens does not have a condition and scheme of service for researchers, adding that they have engaged the Head of Service of the federation for fifteen years on the issue yet nothing has been done about it.
Prof. Ndubuaku stated that they have written a dozen of letters to the current Head of Service on the need to approve and release the condition of service as well as the scheme of service but nothing good has come out of it.
“We started negotiating for the condition and scheme of service for Nigerian researchers over 15 years ago and eventually only the condition of service has been approved and released yet, not all research institutes are implementing it because the Head of Service of the federation has refuse to transmit the approval to some research institutes on reasons best known to them.
“It will interest you to note that only the condition of service that has been released, the scheme of service is yet to be released after two years they said they were still working on it. We are aware that some persons who are benefitting from the non release of condition and scheme of service for researchers are the one deceiving the HOS from releasing it.”Other agencies including the presidency and ministry of science and technology are implementing the the condition of service so far released but the research institute under the ministry of Agriculture is yet to commence the implementation because the HOS has refused to transmit the release of the condition of service to them and that is why we are asking what is the problem?” He queried,
Meanwhile, Prof. Ndubuaku lamented that the ASURI has done everything humanly possible to get the HOS to release the document to research institute under the Ministry of Agriculture but to no avail. He insisted, a country that has no regard for her researchers will definitely remain stagnant, without progress and that’s why he said Nigeria has remain the headquarters of poverty the world over despites numerous mineral resources God has blessed the country with.
Meanwhile, when we made attempt to get reaction from the HOS, the chief security officer of the Head of Service of the federation who refused to give his told this reporter that nobody was in the office to react on it even though it was still noon.
