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
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