- FG names replacement
- Health workers defy pleas, continue with strike
The Acting Director-General, National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Mrs Yetunde Oni, has resigned.
Oni resigned through a letter she wrote to the office of the Secretary General of the Federation earlier this week and was consequently asked to proceed on leave on Thursday through a letter addressed to her by R.P. Ugo, a Permanent Secretary in the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).
She had also written to the SGF to report the protests and strike embarked upon by staff of the agency, who among others demanded that she resign because she had attained 60 years, the compulsory retirement age for employees in the agency and other federal government institutions.
Oni took over from Dr Paul Orhii who was fired alongside 25 others on February 15, 2016 by President Muhammadu Buhari. She was in acting capacity all through the period she headed the agency.
The NAFDAC staff, under the auspices of Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN), joined the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU), last week to embark on indefinite strike over unmet demands by NAFDAC’s management.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Oni has been directed to hand over leadership of the agency to the most senior director in the organization.
The SGF’s letter requested that she hand over to Ademola Mogbojuri, the Director of Training and Research Institute, Kaduna.
However, workers in the agency have insisted they would continue with their strike despite the change in leadership.
The vice chairman of the workers’ union, Idu Isua, said the only thing they had achieved was the sack of Oni and that they now have someone – the new Acting Director-General – to discuss their demands with.
“We are not calling it off. We still have one issue and that is the issue of allowances. So since we have somebody who can spearhead the issue now, we will start from there.
“We can start the negotiation from now since we have somebody who can lead us. So no problem about that but the strike continues,” he told journalists in Abuja.
Similarly, JOHESU has restated its resolve to continue with its 10-day-old strike in all federal tertiary institutions, nationwide.
“As a result of the on-going negotiation between JOHESU and the Federal Government, the leadership of JOHESU wish to inform all members that negotiation is on-going and the strike continues nationwide in all Federal Health Institutions and further directives will be given after meeting with Federal Government on Saturday, 30th September, 2017.
“In the light of the above, state councils are further directed to put on hold the commencement of their strike initially billed for Thursday, 28th of September, 2017 due to the on-going talks.
“JOHESU commends members nationwide for their steadfastness and we hope that government will seize this opportunity to effectively meet our demands in order to shorten the life span of the strike,” a release jointly signed by Com. Biobelemoye Joy Josiah, and Com. Ekpebor Florence, National Chairman and National Secretary, JOHESU, respectively said on Thursday.