By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan.
Federal Government on Thursday reinstated the 91 sacked workers of the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN) Ibadan, 31 months after they were unjustifiably sent packing from the institute.
The reinstated workers were welcome back into the institute with singing, dancing and jubilation by their colleagues and well wishers from the nearby communities.
CRIN Acting Executive Director Dr (Mrs.) Feyisara Okelana while welcoming the 91 workers back, declared that the workers were recalled by the Federal Government upon thorough investigation of their cases and discovered that they were unjustifiably sacked by the past administration in the institute.
The Acting Executive Director advised the reinstated workers to put behind them the ugly experience and rededicate themselves to their work considering the importance of the institute to revamping the nation’s ailing economy.
Specifically, Dr Okelana declared that with the mandate of CRIN as a frontline research centre on Cocoa and some other cash crops, it is now time for the Institute to be more alive than before to the economic revival of the country with agriculture now becoming the vocal point of the current administration in Nigeria.
Congratulating the workers for being alive to witness the occasion of their reinstatement, she said “everybody is conscious of the focus of the FG to diversify the economy from oil to agriculture and we are all ready to contribute our quota to the laudable move”.
Dr Okelana emphasized that the institute is determined to rise to the current challenge of returning Cocoa and Cashew to their rightful place in the agricultural economy of the country through raising of high yield breed of the two crops.
In his remark, Chairman of the various workers’ unions in the institute, Dr. Semiu Olalekan Ogunwolu attributed the reinstatement of the 91 workers to concerted efforts of both the current and the various workers’ unions in the institute, saying it was glaring that the 91 sacked workers were unjustifiably sacked on 24th of January, 2014.
Lauding the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh for his painstakingness in getting to the roots of the matter which led to the reversal of the obnoxious sack order by the immediate past executive director of the institute, he tasked the workers to be more committed to the institute.
Also speaking, the Chairperson of the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) in the institute, Comrade Tessy Otuoye said the reinstatement of the unjustifiably sacked workers was a vindication of the unions that the past administration erred by its action.
“We are very much happy that our cries and agitation of over two years have at last bore the desired result and we cannot thank the government and our management enough. You can see us singing and dancing, we are highly grateful to God Almighty for sparing the lives of all of us who saw the beginning of the crisis to now witness its end on a joyous note”.
