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ASURI urges Tinubu to reject tenure extension proposal of former RMRDC DG

Published

2 years ago

April 26, 2024

The Academic Staff Union of Research Institutions(ASURI)has called on President Bola Tinubu to reject the tenure extension proposal of former director general of the
Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Prof. Hussein Ibrahim after his second and final tenure in office expired on April 7, 2024.

Prof. Theophilus Ndubuaku, Secretary General of the ASURI, stated this in a letter addressed to the president and made available to the press on Wednesday in Abuja.

The letter was titled:
Urgent need to curb Professor Hussaini D. Ibrahim from holding on to the finances of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) after the expiration of his second and final tenure as Director General/Chief Executive Officer of the Council.

In the letter, the ASURI Secretary General argued that Prof. Ibrahim, former two term director general of the RMRDC totally disregarded and violated extant financial regulations by still holding on to the finances of the council.

“Following our protest letter of 16th April 2024, with Ref. No. ASN/SGF/RMRDC/0424/01, in which we reported his refusal to hand- over to the next most senior Director in compliance with extant regulations and vacate office.

” Professor Ibrahim did a hushed verbal handover to the Director of Industrial Plant and Equipment, Engineer Emmanuel Kwaya, without any documentation.
“However, he continues to hold on to control of the Council’s finances, authorizing payments and performing other executive functions as if nothing has changed, ” the letter read.

Ndubuaku wrote that ASURI had it on good account that the former RMRDC’s D-G, Ibrahim applied for tenure extension, which was an aberration with no legal backing anywhere.

He said Ibrahim was “already boasting that his approval would receive a Presidential nod anytime from now, which explains why he does not want to hand over.”

The ASURI Secretary General cited section 9 (d) of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council Act, 2022, which stated that the Director General/CEO shall “hold office for a term of five years in the first instance and may be re-appointed for another term of five years and no more.”

Ndubuaku clarified that giving Ibrahim a tenure extension of even one day would be an anathema to the laws of the land and the system and would negatively impact the anti-corruption stance and integrity of the President Bola Tinubu administration.
The letter explained that before Ibrahim was appointed as substantive Chief Executive of RMRDC in April 2014, he had occupied the position in an acting capacity for one year.

” He was appointed for a four-year tenure under the existing Establishment Act. He manipulated an amendment of the Act to make it a five-year tenure for the CEO, for which he has enjoyed two tenures of five years each, making a total stretch of 11 years as Chief Executive of RMRDC. “

Referring to the Circular of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) of 4th December 2024 with Ref. No. SGF.50/S.11/C.2/268 titled, “End of tenure processes for Heads of Extra-Ministerial Departments, Directors General , Chief Executive Officers of Parastatals, Agencies, Commissions and Government -owned companies succession guideline.”

The ASURI Secretary General said the circular stated: “…pending the appointment of a substantive Head of Extra-Ministerial Department/Director General/Chief Executive Officer of Parastatals, Agency, Commission and Government-owned Company, the outgoing Chief Executive Officer must handover to the next most senior officer of the establishment, as long as the officer does not have any pending disciplinary matter. “

Ndubuaku said the circular further explicitly stated that “outgoing Heads of Extra-Ministerial Departments, Parastatals, Agencies, Commissions, and Government-Owned Companies, are not allowed the discretion of choosing the officer to whom they would hand over.”

He said Professor Ibrahim’s refusal to hand-over formally and vacate office administratively and financially was also in violation of section 2.1.2 (d) (ii) of Conditions of Service for Federal Research Agencies, Institutions and Colleges (COS 2019).

The ASURI Secretary General therefore prayed that President Tinubu should reject the proposal of Professor Ibrahim for a tenure extension, no matter how brief.
That the President should direct office of the Accountant General of the Federation to delay the release of quarterly allocation of funds to RMRDC until a proper handover by Professor Ibrahim is done.

The ASURI also prayed that Tinubu directs a probe into the circumstances leading to the refusal of the former D-G to hand over and the financial authorizations he has granted since 8th April 2024.

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News

Musawa Seeks Broader Significance for June 12

Published

9 hours ago

October 3, 2026

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, Esq., says June 12 must be remembered as a sacrifice that gave Nigerians democracy, beyond its status as a public holiday.

In a statement signed on Saturday by the Senior Assistant Media & Publicity to the Honourable Minister,Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy Dr Nneka Ikem Anibeze Ph.D in Abuja.

Musawa stated this at the national premiere of “MKO”, a film on Chief Moshood Abiola, held at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts, Lagos, to mark Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary.

She said 33 years after June 12, 1993, many young Nigerians know it only as a holiday, but the film turns it back into memory.

“For too many young Nigerians, June 12 is simply a public holiday. This film tells them that our democracy did not arrive by chance. It was fought for. It was defended. It was paid for. This documentary is in honour of the heroes of June 12, the men and women who gave their lives for the mandate of June 12, 1993 and for the democracy Nigeria enjoys today,” the Minister said.

Musawa hailed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Chief Host, for his participation in the June 12 struggle and paying the price in exile, adding that Nigeria’s creative industry will keep telling the story of its democracy with courage.

“Through film and the creative economy, Nigeria will preserve its history. A nation that forgets its past loses its way to the future. Nigeria has a story and our story deserves to be told,” she said.

Earlier, the director of the investigative documentary, Ose Oyamendan, said the film was in honour and memory of heroes who fought for Nigeria’s democracy.

“There was Hope ’93 and now there is Renewed Hope. There was a man who sacrificed his life so we may have democracy and there is a man who almost lost his life fighting for democracy who is now helping build a lasting democracy.

“There was a great man called Bashorun MKO Abiola and there is now another great man called Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Democrats. Nationalists. Nation builders. Leaders of men and women. We must never forget our story. We must always honour and remember our heroes,” Oyamendan said.

Top government officials including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the wife of the President Senator Oluremi Tinubu; Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas, Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, Chief of Staff to the President Rt. Femi Gbajabiamila, state Governors, members of the National Assembly, Ministers and other distinguished dignitaries attended the premiere.

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