By Peter Dansu The Academic Staff Union of Research Institutions ASURI has declared a formal trade dispute with the Director General of the...
By Peter Dansu
The Academic Staff Union of Research Institutions ASURI has declared a formal trade dispute with the Director General of the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria ASCON Dr Funke Adepoju over what it described as gross misconduct illegal actions and administrative incompetence.
In a letter dated January 14 2026 and addressed to the Minister of Labour and Employment the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Service Matters the union accused the ASCON DG of breaching statutory provisions and intimidating academic staff.
ASURI alleged that on January 12 2026 Dr Adepoju arrived at the ASCON premises in Badagry with armed and fully mobilised military personnel and compelled 18 Academic Directors and Deputy Directors to collect termination letters based on age and years of service.
The union said the action violated the ASCON Establishment Act the Public Service Rules and the Conditions of Service governing academic staff in research and tertiary institutions. According to ASURI existing laws and government directives clearly state that academic staff of ASCON and similar institutions retire at 65 not 60.
Beyond the alleged unlawful disengagement the union accused the Director General of persistent intimidation of staff absentee leadership and questionable financial practices. It warned that her continued stay in office poses a serious threat to the integrity of ASCON and could bring embarrassment to the Federal Government at the international level.
ASURI Secretary General Professor Theophilus Ndubuaku said the union has begun mobilisation of members across research and allied institutions nationwide to resist what he described as a dangerous precedent that could lead to the casualisation and humiliation of academic staff in the research sector.
He said the union is acting in defence of the statutory mandate of ASCON and the collective interest of research fellows across federal research and development institutes inter university centres colleges and allied agencies.
Professor Ndubuaku stressed that the union has issued notice of a trade dispute impending nationwide strike action and picketing in protest against what it described as the DG’s gross misconduct illegal actions and manifest incompetence. He added that ASURI is demanding the immediate reversal of the termination of the affected staff and the removal of Dr Adepoju as Director General.
The union warned that failure to meet these demands would trigger a nationwide strike and coordinated picketing across research and allied institutions.
ASURI further argued that the alleged undermining of ASCON’s statutory framework reflects the wider neglect of research and development institutions in Nigeria a situation it linked to rising insecurity poverty unemployment and weak industrial capacity.
ASCON was established in 1972 and remains Nigeria’s foremost management development and executive training institution with global partnerships and a mandate comparable to university level academic and research institutions.
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