Oronsaye Report: Group seek FG to disbands Agency

Feyi Abdulkareem

Concerned Plant Quarantine professionals has appealed to the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency disbands Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service (N.A.Q.S) an agency under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture.

This is contained in a Communique signed by the Chairman of the professionals, Alhaji Jaiyeola Olaniran and Secretary, Sallah Ibrahim and made available to Newsmen on Wednesday.

The communique reads ” The plant Quarantine Service is made up of inspectors who are trained Agronomists and plant pathologists who are specifically trained and certified to identify pests and diseases of plants and plants products of exotic origin on international trade.

“Therefore, they are professionally incompatible with veterinary Doctors who deals with Animals diseases and fisheries who look after fishes.

” The bulk of operational activities in the organization are being carried out by the plant Quarantine inspectors issuing import permit to prospective plants importers and phytosanitary certificate to plant products exporters to meet standard on international trade.

According to the communique all the physical structures that are currently been used for operations , trainings and research belongs to the plant Quarantine Service component of the agency adding that other harmonizing professionals units had none.

” With the reverse salary structure in the agency the veterinary doctors are collecting salaries that are threefolds to the other professionals colleagues in the agency. This is because they enter the service on GL12 while others enter with GL8 as they are claiming superiority thereby placing themselves in all the stations nationwide despite not having the technical know-how at the agency.

The statement revealed that the lumping together of veterinary Doctors, Animal Husbandry, fisheries with plant Quarantine Service units were responsible for the rejection of 102 corps by the European Union countries from Nigeria since 2008 till date because these other professionals colleagues impersonate as plant Quarantine inspectors at thr point of exits amd thereby certified these corps to pass clearance checks without specified protocols of clean health condition on international trade which is done mostly for pecuniary reasons.

” All the infrastructures at the post-entry unit of the plants quarantine services which serves as the engine room where laboratory findings are carried out on plants and plants products for exports and imports are completely deserted and non-existent.

The professionals requested that it’s out of place for veterinary Doctors to be presiding over plants activities as it’s presently constituted in NAQS as the staff members who are Agronomists and pathologists are seriously finding it uncomfortable to work with them.

It stressed that corps are more on the traffic on the international trade and plant Quarantine inspectors are custodians of International standards with specific rules and regulations that guides these trade .

” The agency is relatively four years therefore it’s operating on wastages and continuously increasing burden on cost of governance for the present administration. We pead in the overall national interest for the disbandment of NAQS.

It further added ” we request that square peg should be in square holes as all the component professionals that are currently constituted in the agency should be reassigned to their parents departments in the Agriculture ministry for optimum functioning.

” The plants quarantine services does not need an agency to operate but a fullfleged department in the ministry.”

Several attempts to get the reactions of the agency in question to respond proved abortive at the time of filing this report.