'Exclusive' Favoured candidate for new NABDA DG emerges as union gives ultimatum (Photos)

Barring any last minute change, the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) is set to get a substantive Director General/Chief Executive Officer.

Feelers from the agency indicated that the incoming DG, Prof. Abdullahi Mustapha is currently undergoing security checks and other documentations with the Secretary to the Federal Government office ahead of his announcement by the presidency.

Recall that the incumbent acting DG, Prof. Alex Akpan has come under intense criticism from within and outside the agency owing to his mode of emergence as well as his actions while in office when the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) called on President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint a substantive director general for the agency.

In a statement signed by the NYCN president, Comrade Almustapha A. Abdullahi, it was alleged that there are underground moves to impose the current Acting DG/Chief executive Officer, Prof. Alex U. Akpa.

“Available evidences shows that the said acting Director General has over stayed in office with no meaningful or physical impart thus retarding the growth and development of the Agency, this also goes to other agencies and institutions of government that stunts development of young people in achieving the best of their God given talent and contributing to the growth of Nigeria economy.

“We call on President Muhamadu Buhari a man of impeccable character and integrity to use his fiat of office to correct this abnormality by confirming the appointment of the Substantial Director General for this agency.

“As young people who appreciate the importance of biotechnological revolution we will not fold our arms and let NABDA follow the normal narrative of fail project,” he said.

Akpan stepped in when his predecessor tenure got the attention of antigraft agency EFCC on issues bothering on financial recklessness, diversion of funds and other abuse of office, a source who spoke to Freelanews on condition of anonymity claimed.

In a related development, the Non Academic Staff Union Of Research and Associated Institutions, NASU, NABDA Branch had issued a 14-days ultimatum to the management of the agency to meet some immediate demands of the union failure of which the union threatened to embark on indefinite strike.

In a communique issued after the union emergency Congress held on November 3, 2020 and viewed by our correspondent, the union among other things demanded that 2020 promotion exams be conducted without further delay, call on the management to explain how the FG COVID-19 paliatiave given the agency was expended, delist over 300 newly recruited staff without budgetary allocation.