FIIRO Board Denies Delaying Staff Promotion

Funmi Ogundare

The management of Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi (FIIRO), yesterday refuted the claims by its staff who lamented the non-implementation of the institute’s 2021 promotion exercise, by the current Chairman of the Board, Mr. Magaji Gambo.

In a newspaper publication (not THISDAY) the promotion exercise was said to have been conducted in July 2021 by the former governing board of the institute, which was dissolved by the ex-Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, but the new board, installed in October 2021, refused to implement the promotion.

In a statement made available to THISDAY, the Head, Information and Relations, Office of the Director General of FIIRO, Mr. Chris Olumuyiwa, noted that the chairman of the board is not delaying anybody’s promotion and has invited everyone for discussion, including the Director General, Dr. Jummai Tutuwa Adamu, to hold meetings with stakeholders.

He explained that about the time of the exercise, the supervising ministry (Federal Ministry of Science Technology and Innovation) acted on series of petitions raised against the promotion exercise, in which issues about irregularities in the institute’s nominal role were raised, adding that the ministry had directed that the exercise be suspended.

“Added to this is the fact that the tenure of the then Governing Board of FIIRO, led by Gwazo, has expired as of the time of the promotion exercise. The board merely acted on a forged letter of tenure extension and went ahead with the exercise against the supervising ministry’s directives for its suspension, so as to allow for a staff audit aimed at determining the correct numerical strength and proper placement of members of staff.”

He added that the supervising ministry did not give its nod for the exercise, neither did it have a representative in the promotion panel as stipulated by law.

“This is the first time that a promotion exercise will be conducted without the input and the presence of the supervising ministry, a precedence that must be discouraged,” Olumuyiwa stated.

He told THISDAY in a telephone interview that the mother ministry supervising the institute had given an earlier instruction that the promotion exercise should be put on hold because some staff had written a petition that their names were not included in the promotion list and that some others had been unduly promoted, while some were denied promotion.

He said that members of the Senior Staff Association of Universities Teaching Hospitals Research Institutes and Associated Institutions, were clamouring that the promotion exercise should be duly approved and the payment therein should be given to all members of staff.

“As it were, they are holding the board responsible for the delay. The chairman of the board is not the one delaying anybody’s promotion. He has invited everyone for discussion,” he said.

The director general, Olumuyiwa said, is currently making frantic effort to resolve the impasse, and had met with all the stakeholders involved.

“Hopes are high that very soon the issue will be resolved. As part of effort at resolving all issues relating to staff promotion, the board gave her every support needed to ensure that outstanding promotion areas are paid.”