A fresh crisis is brewing at the Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi, Lagos, as its governing board and the Minister of Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu, are at daggers drawn over a promotion exercise at the institute.

UGAMATV gathered that the board wrote to Onu to inform him of the exercise late July 2021.

However, the minister was said to have asked that the promotion be suspended, saying enough time was not given before the notice.

Our correspondent learnt that the board went ahead with the exercise, which infuriated the minister, who ordered the acting Director General of the agency, Dr Agnes Asagbra, to suspend the results.

In less than 24 hours after Asagbra complied, she was said to have issued a counter-memo, saying the promotion followed due process and was valid.

The relationship between the FIIRO board and the minister has been frosty after a favoured candidate of the latter for the position of DG was demoted over an alleged certificate fraud.

Efforts by Onu to reinstate the candidate and dissolve the board had not been successful.

A source said the latest move by the minister had no basis, adding that only the board had the powers of promotion and appointment of officers.

The source said, “Earlier, some junior staff had their own promotion as specified by law. The FIIRO board then constituted a committee for the promotion of the senior staff and that was when the problem started.

“Usually, the board would notify the ministry of the exercise. But when they did this time, the minister kicked against it, saying they should suspend the exercise because he did not have enough time for notification. The board told him that the letter sent to him was for notification, not to seek his approval.

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“When this did not work, they (minister and his cohorts) used a staff member to write a petition against the exercise, citing COVID-19 and that a lot of people were not aware. The minister then directed the permanent secretary, based on that one petition, to say FIIRO should stop the exercise.”

UGAMATV gathered that many workers came from different parts of the country and participated in the exercise.

The Head of Service and Federal Character Commission were said to have been represented.

“Everybody came, except the director from our ministry and that was because of the minister. On the second day of the exercise, the man they used to write the petition went to meet the FIIRO board chairman and started asking for forgiveness and begging that he wanted to participate in the exercise,” the source added.

UGAMATV gathered that after the result was posted, Onu ordered the Acting DG, Asagbra, to suspend it.

“With reference to the directive of the Hon. Minister, Federal Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Abuja, in a letter dated August 10, 2021, with Ref No: FMST/HRM/870/1/166 and received this afternoon, August 11, 2021, I am to inform you of the suspension of the implementation of result of the promotion exercise pending the outcome from the ministry,” she said.

In a second memo overriding the first, she said the exercise followed due process.

Union leaders in FIIRO, in a statement they jointly signed, commended the board and management over the conduct of the promotion exercise.

The three unions said the board was firm and diligent in the discharge of its statutory functions.

“The unions maintain their support to the governing board, which leaves no stone unturned in taking the institute to the next level of progress,” the statement partly read.

The board Chairman, Gwarzo, said that the institute was handling the situation and declined further comment.

A spokesperson for the ministry, Josephine Ademu, said she was not aware of the conflict over the promotion.

Onu did not take his calls or respond to a text message on the matter as of press time.