Following the lingering crisis between the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria(CRIN) workers and its Executive Director, Professor Malachi Akoroda, the Governing Board, has proscribe union activities in the institute.

The Joint Research and Allied Sector Unions comprising of Academic staff

Union of Research institutes (ASURI), Senior Staff Association of Universities, Teaching Hospitals, Research Institutes and Allied

Institutions (SSATHURIAI) and Non Academic Staff Union (NASU) leaders have also been suspended indefinitely.

Chairman of the governing board, Chief Francis Fadahunsi and board members who were on a second visit to the institute yesterday, were angered by the gate blockage,cutlass sledging and throwing of stones by the workers in order to prevent them from gaining access into the institute.

But for the timely intervention of policemen, board members would have been badly wounded.

Addressing journalist after the arrival of the security operatives, Fadahunsi said the Minister of Agriculture and the Permanent Secretary had directed them to ensure that the institute was opened back for research work by all means after three months of union unrest."I do not think the workers are having any problem with the Executive Director, Prof Malachi Akoroda as earlier claimed, but observed that they are only fighting with the Federal Government.

"If the directors of this institute can go ahead to block the office of the

Executive Director appointed by the Federal Government after all persuasion and peace meetings and they are still adamant, automatically they do not want to work and are against the government."This morning we met with their directors and they gave us the agenda of the meeting, and only for them to attack us again with weapons and cutlasses when we got to the institute, making it the second time we will be sent back, who will tolerate such indiscipline," he said.

 According to him, the earlier agenda of the meeting was for us to come down to the institute and they will put their grievances into writing, but did not give us anything."Automatically the Federal Government did not employ anybody here to do union activities, therefore the union is proscribe from now on, while the management that are involve in instigating this crisis are suspended until further notice for disobeying the Minister of Agriculture and the Permanent Secretary" the CRIN Chairman said.

He promised to deal with whoever was behind the ugly incident, noting that peace and progress must be returned back to the institute.

"What is happening here is an indication that they have not been working, but their own is to hold meetings, and share the research money, while the agricultural transformation agenda of the federal government is suffering a massive setback."This institute is the only life wire of the economy after the oil, and if you look at the economic price index in the world, oil is 107 dollars per barrel, while cocoa is 2860 dollars per metric ton, so it is our future that they are fiddling with," he said.

On weather the board is taking side with Prof Akoroda, Fadahunsi said Akoraoda was appointed by the government, while he was also appointed by the government, he wondered why he should be supporting the aggrieved workers whom he described as hoodlums.

"After holding different meetings day and night with them, giving them the assurance that the federal government will look into their grievances, yet they barricaded the gates, closed all the offices against the visitors, two times they did not allow the board members to enter, then who will tolerate such indiscipline" he said.

However, the SSATHURIAI Chairman of CRIN, Mr Idowu Ogunbosoye said the board did not have the power to suspend of proscribe the union, adding that they have alerted their executive body about the situation and were awaiting further directive."The Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akinwumi Adesina is having special interest in the Executive Director of CRIN, Dr Akoroda whom we have identified as a bad leader, who lacks administration skills, but they are still forcing him on the workers" he said.

The union leader also accused the board chairman of sponsoring touts to beat them up, adding that the board is supporting the executive director.

Also, Akoroda while explaining his side of the story said, the crisis started in March, 2011 before he was appointed when the unions wrote an open letter to the president advising him to take one of the most senior directors at the institute as the executive director.

"In that letter to the president they have vowed that if their own choice is not taking, the institute will remain ungovernable and since when I have been appointed in July till date they have been making use of the union to make this place ungovernable for me," he said.