By Ishola Balogun At the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), the corridors once alive with the hum of discovery now echo with uncertainty. Professors and Research Fellows—men and women who have dedicated decades to probing Nigeria’s most pressing health challenges—find themselves staring at eviction notices and premature retirement letters. Their crime? Serving more than eight years as Directors in a system where tenure rules were never meant to apply to them. The dispute stems from the Federal Government’s policy providing for eight-year tenure for Directors in the Federal Public Service. Prof. John Obafunwa, Director-General of NIMR, moved to enforce the Federal Government’s eight-year tenure policy on academic and research cadre Directors. But the union’s position is that the policy was never intended to retire Research/Academic Cadre Directors who are essentially career researchers and professors. The Academic Staff Union of Research Institutions, ASURI points to a definitive clarification issued by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) on November 29, 2014. The clarification, referenced as HCSF/EPO/EIR/RR/6411436T/54 and addressed to the then Minister of Science and Technology, stated: “Officers of Research under the purview of your Ministry who were appointed as Research/Academic Cadre staff, and whose career advancement fulfills the specified conditions, including publications, may continue in service until they attain the age of 65 years in line with the provisions of the extant rules.” The clarification added: “This is without prejudice to the eight- year tenure policy of the government.” To ASURI, that document settled the matter. The union says the clarification established that Research/Academic Cadre staff could remain in service until 65, while the eight-year rule applied to Directors who were not members of the Research/Academic Cadre. A policy misapplied ASURI considered it as a policy misapplied, adding that the eight-year tenure policy was designed for administrative Directors in the Federal Public Service, not for academics whose careers are tied to research and teaching. It stated that multiple clarifications from the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) over the past two decades exempted research and academic cadre Directors. A 2014 letter explicitly stated: “Officers of Research under the purview of your Ministry who were appointed as Research/Academic Cadre staff… may continue in service until they attain the age of 65 years in line with the provisions of the extant rules.” Yet, despite these clarifications, NIMR’s management pressed forward. Grants were terminated, projects stalled, and professors were told to vacate their offices and residences. Reacting to the development, the Secretary-General of the Academic Staff Union of Research Institutions (ASURI), Prof. Theophilus Ndubuaku said:, “Now you say all the research professors should retire because they have served as directors for eight years.” He was lamenting. “Funny enough, the people they are asking to retire are the ones who mentor the new people. If they go now, the new people will not have mentors, amid a ban on employment.” “You drive a professor out of his residence, and he has not collected his gratuity and pension,” Ndubuaku explained. “Most of them don’t have savings. They are indebted to cooperatives and loans to train their children. You now ask him to pack out. This is the predicament of researchers.” Similar issue in court The crisis deepened in July when the National Industrial Court struck down the Federal Government’s circular enforcing the eight-year tenure rule on education directors. Justice Olufunke Anuwe ruled that teachers and education officers are entitled to remain in service until 65 years of age or 40 years of pensionable service. The court declared the circulars illegal, null, and void, granting a perpetual injunction against their implementation. Though the case was specific to education officers, the principle resonates strongly with research institutes. Both cadres are governed by similar rules, and the judgment reinforces ASURI’s position that research directors cannot be forced out prematurely. For research fellows, the ruling was a beacon of hope. But at NIMR, the management’s stance remained unchanged. The Union’s fury Responding to questions via phone, Prof. Theophilus Ndubuaku, said: “NIMR Chief Executive is insisting because he got a letter from his Ministry that the research professors must go. “For the past twenty years, the HOCSF has maintained through letters that research Directors are not supposed to be affected by the tenure policy. The policy says that if a Director serves for eight years, he should retire. It is public service policy. The Director of resea
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