FG Intervenes in UNIUYO, UNICAL Crisis Over VC Selection
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has directed the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, to withdraw its current advertisement for the position of Vice-Chancellor in the institution and publish a revised version which is inclusive.
The directive follows a protest by the clinical lecturers under the aegis of the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria, which had threatened to embark on strike over what it described as discriminatory criteria in the selection process.
The development comes as clinical lecturers at the University of Calabar called off their indefinite strike.
The clinical lecturers raised concerns over the advert’s qualification requirements, which they argued unfairly excluded medical professionals holding fellowships from eligibility.
The MDCAN insisted that the institutions must withdraw the advertorial announcing a vacancy for the vice-chancellors and accommodate its members.
In a memo dated June 13, 2025, and addressed to the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of the University of Uyo, the group warned that unless the advert was amended, it would take industrial action.
MDCAN subsequently issued a two-week ultimatum, set to expire on July 1, 2025, demanding that the university revise the criteria to ensure fairness and inclusivity in the appointment process.
Speaking to our correspondent on Monday, the National President of MDCAN, Prof Muhammad Muhammad, confirmed that Dr Alausa had intervened directly.
Prof Muhammad said the minister explicitly instructed UNIUYO to retract the existing advert and reissue a version that accommodates both PhD and Fellowship qualifications.
We had a conference call yesterday (Sunday) with the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, and the Pro-Chancellor of UNIUYO, and the minister explicitly instructed UNIUYO to retract the existing advert and reissue a version that does not sideline anyone.
“The university management and the MDCAN in the university will be meeting today or tomorrow to conclude on the matter and the way forward,” he noted.
Speaking on the UNICAL situation, Prof Mohammed said the matter had also been resolved.
“The matter has been sorted. The university has issued an addendum to the initial advert, now stating that individuals with either a PhD or a medical fellowship are eligible to apply for the Vice Chancellor position.
“Following this resolution, MDCAN members at the University of Calabar resumed their duties last week,” he said
Explaining the distinction in training pathways between clinical and non-clinical academics in medicine, he said, “In clinical medicine, we don’t follow the conventional Master’s/PhD route. Our training is through a residency programme, which is both academic and clinical, lasting six to eight years and culminating in the award of a fellowship.
“It is this fellowship that qualifies one to be appointed as a consultant in hospitals and as a lecturer in universities. From Lecturer I, one progresses through the academic ranks up to professor, based on established criteria,” he added.
UNICAL lecturers had embarked on the industrial action on June 13 to also protest what they described as exclusion from the ongoing selection process for the position of vice-chancellor.
SOURCE: PUNCH
