The Federal Government has reinstated the 91 sacked workers of the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN), Idi-Ayunre, Ibadan, Oyo State. While welcoming the staff back to work, the Acting Executive Director of the Institute, Mrs. Feyisara Okelana, said the institute has received a letter which vindicated the sacked workers stating that their sack was victimization.

 
Okelana urged the workers to wake up to their responsibilities of fulfilling the mandate of quality research to salvage the country from the present economic challenges. The director emphasized that the institute has a critical role to play in boosting cocoa and cashew production in the country. She therefore urged them to jettison their personal interest and focus on the corporate interest of the institute and country in general.
 
“It’s time for us to focus on our primary mandate which is research. We are in the pivotal role to revamp the cocoa sector; we have various technologies on shelf which can help our country. Our hybrid cocoa is a landmark achievement as we produce about 300 tons per hectare. So the government should give us regular and timely funding to multiply the hybrids for new planting,” she said.
 
Mrs. Okelana commended President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbe, for their intervention which saved the institute from collapse. She also appreciated the support of union and community leaders for their efforts towards the reinstatement of the workers. And she promised to reposition the institute to make it one of the best research centres in the country.