NASC DG Appointment: Institute Drags FG, SGF To Court

Abuja, By George Agba

The International Institute for Humanitarian and Environmental Law (ISHERL) has approached a Federal High Court, Abuja seeking the removal from office of the Director General of the National Agriculture Seeds Council (NASC), Dr. Philip Olusegun.
The Institute dragged the federal government, Secretary to Government of the Federation and the Ministry of Agriculture before the court, praying it to issue an order of mandamus compelling them to remove Olusegun from office.
ISHERL said its findings revealed an absurdity, abuse of due process, extant laws, policies and regulations regarding the appointment of the DG of NASC, Olusegun in violation of relevant laws.
This, according to the Institute, followed series of petitions received by its department on public petitions and public interest litigation, after which its eagled eyed team was dispatched to carry out investigation in the relevant ministry, agency and commission.
The Institute is praying the court to declare that the failure, refusal and neglect by the federal government and the ministry to remove Olusegun from office as contained in its petition of November 2015 constitutes violation of the federal civil service rules, and therefore unjustifiable, wrongful and illegal.
ISHERL is also praying the court for an order of mandamus compelling the federal government, the SGF and the ministry of agriculture to remove Olusegun from office within 14 days of the delivery of judgement in the case.
It contended that federal government’s refusal to address the several acts of breaches of the extant civil service rules of the federation has made the filing of its case very urgent.
In a petition it wrote to the SGF, ISHERL had strongly opposed the appointment of Olusegun as DG of NASC, even as it regretted that this was happening under a President Buhari’s watch.
In the petition dated October 13, 2015, the Institute reminded the SGF that Nigerians have over the decades yearned for a change in governance, fight against corruption and delivery of dividends of good governance, a situation it said propelled the people to vote massively for change.
It said Olusegun was purportedly appointed substantive DG of NASC on May 22, 2015 while he was still serving as director in council, a position which is junior to other senior persons qualified for the job.
Accordingly, the Institute sought for the immediate removal of Olusegun as DG NASC, the appointment of the oldest serving director in NASC as acting DG in line with extant rules and regulations and recommend “that Olusegun and all his allies, if found culpable in the said illegal appointment, be prosecuted to serve as deterrent against any future occurrence”
Sources;Vanguard