Institute staff protest non-payment of salaries, leadership vacuum

They had on November 27 last year protested non-payment of salaries and “bad management style” of the then president of the institute, Dr Raymond Akwule.
But yesterday, the placard carrying staff said they were not happy because of the failure of government to appoint a substantive president after the former one was sacked. They said this is hampering the institutional and human capital management issues in the institute.
The protesting staff have vowed not open the institute for official duty until their demands are met.  
The head, Client Acquisition and Relations of the institute, Viola Asika Usoro who spoke on behalf of the protesters, said it is 60 days since the institute has been without a formally instituted leadership following the exit of their president in November last year after a protest.
She said: “The result of this is that, there are a lot of institutional and human capital management issues with no authority to handle these issues and the staff are concerned about this.”
Usoro said the public service rules do not allow a leadership vacuum in any government agency because an organisation would not have any direction and things can go wrong.
“Currently, staff’s salaries are not paid. Allowances are outstanding for over two years, and these allowances include rent. You can imagine how well-responsible working men are being ejected from their homes,” she said.
According to her, a presentation was made to the management of Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on the situation and they were yet to get any response or anything done on the issue.
She added that the person who is currently heading the institute has not been given any written or formal authority to act as the head.
But NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Dr Tony Ojobo said he “would not comment on the DBI protest because the institute is not under us. Go and ask them there; not us.”
One of the DBI’s Vice President, Dr Okechukwu Ugweje, however told Daily Trust that NCC is economical with the truth.
He said that DBI top management staff have taken the matter to the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) and “we hope they may soon be resolved.”
He insisted that the institute is still under NCC and that “we have taken the issue on staff salaries and others to them. And I believe NCC will resolve them.”