The Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, has said the agency is not in charge of determining the number of staff to be promoted.

Adeyeye said this while reacting to the ongoing indefinite strike embarked on by the Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations and Government-Owned Companies, representing employees of NAFDAC, due to unresolved promotion controversies and welfare concerns.

Adeyeye, in a statement signed by the agency’s Resident Media Consultant, Sayo Akintola, noted that the reasons advanced by the striking workers against the agency were not true.

”Whether it is a matter of promotion or estacode, the agency has been following the rules and is committed to promoting the workers’ welfare.

”We are not in charge of the number of people to promote; we are only responsible for conducting exams.

“The office of the Head of Service of the Federation is always responsible for allocating available vacancies that the government can pay for.

”It is not that there is a vacancy and we are not promoting. It is based on what the government can afford and vacancies are approved each year. It is not different from any other agency,” it stated.

On the issue of estacode, the NAFDAC boss said there was nothing wrong with the agency’s estacode policy.

”That is just playing to the gallery. Our members of staff have always been paid their due estacode, so, that is not an issue.

“We are not different from any other agency; the estacode will be paid when the evidence of the trip is presented. We have never owed any staff any travel allowance,” the statement added.

PUNCH