STILL ON THE CONTINUING VIOLATION OF THE RAW MATERIALS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL ACT, 2022 THROUGH THE APPOINTMENT OF NNANYELUGO MARTIN IKE-MUONSO AS DIRECTOR-GENERAL BY SCIENCE MINISTER, UCHE NNAJI.
It is upwards of 10 days since I wrote an expose on the illegal appointment of Martin Ike-Muonso, an economist, as DG Raw Materials Research And Development Council (RMRDC). This is in breach of Section 9 of the RMRDC ACT which unequivocally states that the person must possess “at least 18 years post qualification experience in science, engineering and technology subjects”.
It is quite disturbing that the Minister for Innovation, Science and Technology, Mr Uche Nnaji, a mediocre performer who recommended Nnanyelugo Martins Ike-Muonso for the appointment, has not taken urgent steps to remove the illegal DG and put an end to this breach of extant laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
See the link to the previous article =>https://360reporters.org/2024/05/illegal-appointment-of-prof-nnanyelugo-martin-ike-muonso-as-dg-at-nigerias-raw-materials-research-and-development-council-science-minister-uche-nnaji-erred/.
Many Nigerians could have leaned toward the notion that the appointment could have been an oversight and was made in total ignorance of the governing law by the Minister who made the recommendation. But those who reached out to me and who expected immediate course correction by the Minister have been left disappointed by his obvious intransigence.
Consequently, the said Ike-Muonso continues to occupy a position he is ill-equipped for by virtue of his training as an economist and lack of legal capacity as contained in the RMRDC Act.
The one deduction that can be made from the entire process thus far is that Mr Uche Nnaji thinks he is above the law, can flout it at will and take the entire country for a ride.
It is becoming increasingly clear that the Minister deviously took advantage of the absence of a Board of RMRDC to smuggle in Martin Ike-Muonso believing he could hoodwink Nigerians. I am absolutely certain that any Board worth its name would have discovered and prevented this fraud. The RMRDC Act stipulates in Section 9 that the Minister through the Board recommends the DG for appointment by the President. Presently, there is no constituted Board for RMRDC.
Mr Uche Nnaji is working extremely hard to tarnish the image of the Tinubu administration through actions such as this. He is, by all appearances, a fifth columnist in the cabinet; an enemy within.
President Tinubu has shown a penchant for listening to the clamour of Nigerians against certain appointments made in the past. He revoked the appointment of 24-year-old Kashim Imam as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA). He also removed Chukwuemeka Woke as DG Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority following an outcry that the appointee is not from the South West region. The President also declared an indefinite suspension of all governing board appointments of Nigerian tertiary institutions following complaints of non conformity with Federal Character Principles.
I am, through this medium, calling the attention of Mr President to this illegal appointment for immediate revocation. That will serve as both a message and a warning to Mr Nnaji and others that there must be strict adherence to the rule of law.
It is also pertinent to note that neither Mr Nnaji, his retinue of aides nor Martin Ike-Muonso has been able to challenge my assertion that the law was grossly violated by this appointment.
I am, once again, directing their attention to the provisions of Section 9 of the RMRDC Act and to explain to Nigerians the rationale or justification for this appointment. Martin Ike-Muonso, an impostor, should do the honourable thing and resign with immediate effect to save himself further ignominy.
Mr Uche Nnaji has shown himself to be someone who delights in acting with impunity. If not, he had a wide latitude to recommend a qualified person from the very large pool of qualified Nigerians including persons from his own family so long as they possess the requisite qualifications in science, engineering and technology. Instead, he chose to recommend an economist with shady academic/ professional credentials and bogus professorial claims. (A topic for another day).
My assurance to Mr Nnaji and the impostor DG is that this matter will not go away and they shall be the ones to go away if they continue to disrespect the laws of the land.
I call on Mr President, the relevant trade unions, the science and technology committees of both Chambers of the National Assembly and all well-meaning Nigerians to stand up to be counted as we collectively oppose this egregious violation of the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I have also consulted widely with many aggrieved members of the science and engineering community in Nigeria who are ready to institute legal action to challenge the legality of this appointment.
Adekola Malomo writes from Abuja, Nigeria.
