Dozens of protesters on Monday staged a peaceful demonstration at the National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI), Vom, Plateau State, demanding the reversal of the appointment of Prof. Abdullahi Ahmed as provost of the Federal College of Animal Health and Production Technology. The college is located within the premises of the NVRI in Jos South Local Government Area of the state. The protest, which began in July following the appointment of Ahmed and Yakubu Dashe as Executive Director of the NVRI, also disrupted the planned handover ceremony for the new provost last Thursday. The protesters, dressed in black, gathered at the institute’s main gate on Monday and demanded the appointment of Associate Prof. Luka Pam, who they said is from the host community. They said that while they welcomed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s appointment of Dashe, whom they described as their son, they opposed Ahmed’s appointment because he is from Gombe State. Speaking to Daily Trust, a leader of the protesters and President of the Berom Intelligentsia Forum, Barrister Weng Emmanuel Logyang, said the demonstration was aimed at demanding recognition for the host community in the appointment. He said Pam participated in the examination and interview process for the position and should be considered for the appointment. Logyang also claimed that the land on which the institution was built had not been adequately compensated for, although Daily Trust could not independently verify the claim. He alleged that the host community had been excluded from key positions in federal institutions located in the area and called on President Tinubu to intervene. However, the protest has drawn criticism from civil society groups and supporters of the new provost, who described it as ethnically and religiously motivated. The Chairman of the Gombe Network of Civil Society Organisations and General Secretary of the Northern Civil Society Conference, Comrade Ibrahim Yusuf, said the protest was “dangerous” to national unity. He argued that federal institutions should not be treated as state-owned organisations, noting that many Plateau indigenes occupy leadership positions in federal institutions located outside the state. Yusuf cited Plateau indigenes heading federal institutions in Kaduna and Nasarawa states, saying nobody had protested against their appointments on the basis of their state of origin. He urged Nigerians to look beyond ethnicity and religion when considering appointments, saying competence and the ability to develop institutions should be the priority. He also noted that key positions at the NVRI complex were held by people from different states and religious backgrounds, including Dashe from Plateau State and Dr Chukwu Otuh Okoh Chukwu from Ebonyi State. He said Ahmed’s appointment should therefore not be opposed because he is from Gombe or because of his religion.
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