By Wole Mosadomi

Minna—Unless the Federal Ministry of Education intervenes in the power tussle at The National Examinations Council, NECO, is now engulfed in crises following the alleged power between the registrar and a director in the council.

Following the development, some unknown people Monday, invaded the headquarters of the council in Minna, the Niger State and embarked on a protest demanding the immediate final disengagement of the Registrar from office.

As a result of this, some police personnel were invited to intervene in the matter for sanity to prevail.

However, addressing reporters at the NECO office yesterday, the Chief Executive/Registra of the Council, Professor Promise Okpala said he was still in charge of the office and had not handed over to any director.

“I am still in charge and still remains the Registrar of the Council as I have not handed over to any director. I still have all the instruments granting me permission to be on this seat until my tenure elapses,” he said.

Okpala explained that he actually received an official letter from the Federal Ministry of Education that he should proceed on terminal leave but that he drew the attention of the authority to the fact that his appointment is political as he was not a civil servant which he said was corrected.

“I actually got a letter from the Federal Ministry of Education asking me to proceed on terminal leave but I quickly replied by drawing the attention of the ministry to the fact that I am not supposed to comply until my tenure is over and another letter came immediately directing me to continue in my capacity as Registrar.

I am not a civil servant but a political appointee. I am here on tenure and I have less than two months to go and I will leave only at the expiration of my tenure more so when I have all the official instruments that keep me here and I want to tell you that if am not armed with the instruments, I would have left,” he further explained.

The Registrar wondered why a group of people were so desperate to remove him unduly from office especially where he had stayed for almost eight years with good records to show.