The Academic Staff Union of Research Institutions (ASURI) has called on President Bola Tinubu to rescind the appointment of Funke Adepoju as the Director General/Chief Executive of the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON).

In a letter dated 2nd May 2025 with Ref. No. ASN/PBAT/ASCON/0525/01, the Union, which described the appointee as an external candidate, wants Mr. President to reconsider the move “in the interest of justice, equity, institutional integrity, and adherence to established rules,” adding that the appointment, if confirmed, would contravene extant guidelines and policies on the appointment of heads of research and training institutions such as ASCON.

The Guardian reports that ASURI represents research fellows in federal research and development institutions, inter-university centres, colleges of agriculture and forestry, and allied institutions.

In the letter titled: “Petition against the purported appointment of Mrs. Funke Adepoju as Director General of the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Topo, Badagry, and a humble request to uphold due process and federal regulations” and signed by its Secretary General, Professor Theophilus Ndubuaku, the Union doubted if the appointment was approved by President Tinubu.

It said: “We dare to state that the appointment could not have had the blessing of Mr. President as the process falls far short of due process, which the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Administration upholds: no advertisement of the vacancy, no shortlisting, no written or oral examination, and no interview.”

The Union therefore prayed the President to: rescind the purported appointment of Mrs. Funke Adepoju and jettison any plans to appoint any other external candidate as Director General of ASCON; direct that the substantive Director General be appointed from among the qualified internal Directors of ASCON, in accordance with Conditions of Service for Federal Research and Development Agencies, Institutes and Colleges (COS 2019) and the 23rd November 2017 Circular of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) with Ref. No.
SGF/OP/1/S.3/T on appointment of Chief Executives; and uphold the principles of justice, internal progression, and continuity that the Federal Government has consistently espoused in the administration of its institutions.

Professor Ndubuaku noted that the Union had earlier commended the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HCSF) for following the laid-down guidelines in appointing one of the Directors of the college in acting capacity after the tenure of the immediate past Director General.

He said, “In a letter dated 24th April 2025 with Ref. No. ASN/OHCSF/ASCON/0425/01, we commended the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HCSF) for adhering to due process in appointing Mr. Olutunde Oladele Eniaiyejuni, who had been deputizing for the former Director General for eight years, as Acting Chief Executive upon the expiration of Mrs. Cecilia Umaru Gaya’s tenure on 9th April 2025, and urged the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) to commence and adhere to the due process in appointing the substantive Chief Executive.”

It had noted in its letter to HCSF that the appointment of the overseeing DG conformed with Chapter 2, Section 2.1.2 D-ii of COS 2019, which states: “In the event of exit or temporary absence of the substantive Director General, the most senior Research Director shall oversee the affairs of the College pending the appointment of a substantive Head.”

It also urged the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation to be guided in the process of appointing the substantive Chief Executive by the provisions of Chapter 2, Section 2.1.3.3(c) of COS 2019, which states: “The Selection Committee shall first consider the claims of outstanding and meritorious Directors in the institution concerned who fall within the field of selection, for recommendation in their order of relative eligibility.”
According to Ndubuaku, the Union and other stakeholders were shocked at the purported appointment of Adepoju, describing her as “an external candidate.”