Institute denies allegations of nepotism, misconduct

The National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI) has dismissed allegations of nepotistic recruitment, marginalisation of Plateau State indigenes, and procurement irregularities levelled against the institute. In an open letter addressed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the leaders of the Plateau Youth Council, Berom Youth Moulders, and Berom Intelligentsia, had accused the NVRI of breaching the Federal […]

The National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI) has dismissed allegations of nepotistic recruitment, marginalisation of Plateau State indigenes, and procurement irregularities levelled against the institute.

In an open letter addressed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the leaders of the Plateau Youth Council, Berom Youth Moulders, and Berom Intelligentsia, had accused the NVRI of breaching the Federal Character Principle in its 2022 recruitment.

The letter accused the institute of sidelining host communities, and planning a lopsided hiring of over 200 staff.

But responding to the allegation, NVRI management described the claims as “falsehoods and misinformation”.

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It stressed that the recruitment was based on approved vacancies, specialised skills, and Federal Character guidelines, as it was authorised by relevant agencies.

The statement reads, “With a total staff strength of 877 personnel, 400 are from Plateau State with 161 coming from Jos South Local Government Area being the extended host community. The 35 other States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory share the remaining 477 staff in post.

“At no point within the past five years has faith, tribe, ethnicity determined the composition of committees or project teams nor was it elevated as an administrative template. Rather an inclusive and equitable approach has been adopted in managing the diverse personnel pool of the Institute with fairness, gender inclusiveness and competence driving decision-making.”

The institute also denied disrespecting traditional institutions, saying it conducts corporate social responsibility projects, including drainage construction to prevent flooding, ICT donations to schools, among others.

On procurement, NVRI said it adhered strictly to due process and financial regulations, challenging the petitioners to request relevant documents under the Freedom of Information Act.

The NVRI added in the last five years achieved over 20 research grants, ISO 17025 certification for several laboratories, increased staff training, and collaborations that have boosted vaccine production capacity.

While urging the public to disregard the allegations, it warned youth groups to desist from being used to disrupt peace in the institution and its colleges.