The staff members of the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), NIMR Branch embarked on a 3-day warning strike from Monday August 17 to Wednesday August 19 2015 to protest the high level of corruption, repressive and reckless management of the affairs of the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Yaba, Lagos. An indefinite strike looms in the Institute if the demands of the workers are unmet 3 working days after the initial 3-day warning strike.
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Recently, through widely circulated leaflets, there was news on the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) situated at 6 Edmond Crescent, Yaba, Lagos with the administration of Prof. Innocent Ujah as the Director General epitomised by corruption, nepotism, fraudulent employment of workers, gross impunity and disregard for public service regulations. NIMR is a parastatal of the Federal Ministry of Health.
There are calls by members of staff and an investigative organisation, SEARCHLIGHT, urging government to probe Prof Ujah’s activities and scrutinise NIMR nominal roll for justice, equity and fair play. According to SEARCHLIGHT, a senior management member of the Institute who spoke on condition of anonymity revealed that Prof. Ujah exploited the graveyard peace in NIMR since assuming office in 2010 and there is tension at NIMR now. Most members of staff of the Institute interviewed by SEARCHLIGHT correspondent corroborated the earlier statement and requested the investigation of the veracity of their claims.
Allegations levelled against the Director General include:
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NEPOTISM: Close to 150 new staff with irrelevant qualifications were recruited since the Director General’s assumption to office since 2010. More than 50% of these new staff are from Benue State (Prof. Ujah’s state of origin) and mostly his kinsmen from his local government area. There are claims of bias and imposition of his kinsmen into key positions resulting in over-bloated nominal roll of irrelevant and unqualified personnel.
IMPUNITY: There are claims that NIMR, a public institution, at present could best be described as a “personal business”. Decisions on appointments and contracts made with disregard to public service rules and regulations and without the knowledge of the members of the Senior Management Committee, the superior officers’ in managerial cadre of the Institute.
FRAUDULENT PRACTICES:
Gross misconduct during the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) exercise with the inclusion of scores of new names into the pay roll of NIMR in January 2014.
Delayed promotion of staff and manipulation of results of promotional interviews.
Back dating of new appointments by as much as one year (12 months) in 2012 and 2014. In December 2014 for example, about 70 workers were fraudulently employed into the Institute. The employment letters issued to these set of workers were back-dated to December 2013 and the salary arrears paid the new staff were reported being refunded to Prof Ujah through an account number clandestinely given to each of these new staff.
Conversion of staff arrears for personal use: The 12-month salary arrears for 2012 shortfall paid by government for disbursement to NIMR workers have been reportedly hijacked by the Institute’s Director General. Of the 12-month salary arrears paid by government, only arrears for 3 months were paid to the workers in November 2013 with an outstanding 9-month salary arrears left unaccounted for. It is reported that Government has actually released the outstanding amount but it has been misappropriated by the Director General.
Over-bloated contract of an uncompleted ‘white elephant’ e-library project award to Prof. Ujah’s company for one billion naira. Fund for the e-library was accessed through finance from the immediate past Senate President’s office. Senator David Mark, the immediate past Senate President, who was of recent under fire for transparency of budget/finances of the Senate during his tenure is Prof. Ujah’s kinsman (Idoma) from Benue State. The Director General used government funds in buying a Toyota Hi-Lux car for the use of the private company (Ujah’s company) that is the contractor of the e-library construction.
Conversion of funds allocated to research for personal use
Deliberate policy to frustrate research staff resulting in exodus of about 25% of research scientists who constitute the core staff of the Institute. Between December 2014 and July 2015, not less than 7 research scientists have exited NIMR.
Mismanagement of NIMR internally generated revenue (IGR) for incessant personal trips. Most trips are embarked on in flights of Business class. Presently, offices in NIMR lack basic stationery and consumables to work with as the Institute’s General Store is virtually empty of these basic items. Suppliers are owed a whooping sum of over 50 million naira of executed contracts. NIMR’s IGR is never remitted to Federation account contrary to the Federal Government’s directive to all government agencies to do so.
Lack of electricity back-up: The Institute’s generator no long works for months due no diesel. Diesel suppliers are being owed millions of naira who have refused to make any further commitment to supply the product to power the generator any time there is cut in public power supply. There are times when the Institute will be without power for days (both day and night) thereby resulting in loss of valuable specimens stored in refrigerators and freezers in the laboratories and lack of water supply to the laboratories and staff residential quarters.
Unlawful use of government funds for political campaign in Benue State (Prof. Ujah’s state of origin) during the last general elections. About 4.5 million naira was fraudulently withdrawn for personal use from NIMR funds in the first quarter of 2015 with connivance of the Head of the Clinical Sciences Division in claiming the repairs of a power generating set that was never serviced for the said amount of 4 million naira by forging and raising fake quotations and receipts in this regard.
Hatred, harassment, intimidation and unlawful posting of Senior staff particularly Union leaders to out-stations as punitive measures. In 2014 for example, two union leaders were posted out. One to Kainji, in Niger State and the other to Maiduguri during the heating of insurgency by the Boko Haram-sect in this ravaged area of Borno State of North East Nigeria not minding the danger of this act to life to the staff. The staff was mandated by the Director General to report to Maiduguri or resign if unwilling to obey his order; an order which was eventually complied with by the affected staff to save his job.
Atrocity perpetrated without decorum at NIMR Abuja office under Prof. Ujah cumulating in about 65 million naira spent on putting up an office space personally supervised and executed by the Director General himself.
Undue use government funds for personal aggrandisement. Despite the dwindling funds from government, the Director General deemed it more important than other core areas of work in the Institute that requires funding to mark his appointment to office flamboyantly on annual basis in the last five years. His fifth year anniversary was recently celebrated on July 8 2015 with a half-paged public announcement placed in a national daily newspaper, The Guardian newspaper of Saturday July 4 2015. Caution was thrown to the winds during the ceremony in the Institute’s auditorium when the Director General was seen dancing and spraying money on the local dance group from his community in Lagos that graced the occasion.
Unpaid group insurance premium for the staff of the Institute to protect them against unforeseen accidents since Prof. Ujah assumed office in 2010.
In this new era of Change and zero tolerance for corruption under the President Muhammadu Buhari’s government, the high level of impunity, misappropriation of government funds, fraudulent employment of workers and corruption by the Director general in NIMR have to be urgently investigated by the federal government for urgent and necessary actions. This is anticipated to restore the lost glory and bring sanity to the apex health research institute in the country.
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