Legal battle erupts over VC appointment at Nnamdi Azikwe varsity
The Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria has dragged the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (NAU), Awka, and others to court over who becomes the lawful vice chancellor (VC) of the institution.
The claimants; the Incorporated Trustees of Medical and Dental Consultants Association of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH) and Dr Victor Modekwe, in the suit, prayed the court to perpetually restrain Prof Carol Umobi or any other person from parading themselves as the VC of NAU, Awka in Anambra.
In the originating summons marked: NICN/ABJ/383/2024, the claimants further urged the court to stop the university, the National University Commission (NUC) and the Federal Ministry of Education from recognising Prof Umobi or any other person appointed as the validly elected VC of the university.
Other defendants listed in the suit are the Council, Prof Umobi and the acting Registrar, Mr Victor Modebelu respectively.
Consequently, the claimants, in a letter by their counsel, J.I Ekeoma, dated Oct. 25, drew the attention of the acting VC, Prof Umobi, and the university authority to the pendency of the suit and the urgent need to maintain status quo on the issue.
In the letter which chronicled the events that gave rise to the suit, the claimants accused the university of taking discriminatory steps against the 2nd Claimant, Dr Modekwe and other people in the medical and dental fields in the process of appointing a new vice chancellor of the institution.
They averred that on Sept. 12, the council on behalf of the university, caused a publication to be made by the Vanguard Newspaper and same was published on page 33 of the newspaper.
It said that the said publication outlined a requirement that sought to disenfranchise and exclude the members from faculties of Medicine and Basic Clinical Sciences in the process of applying for the vacant position of the vice chancellor of the university.
The lawyer in the letter stated that “instead of undoing the wrong it did to our client, the university informed the association to reach out to the NUC for clarification as to whether the Fellowship is to be considered as an equivalent to Ph.D for the purpose of appointment as the substantive vice chancellor of the university.”
He alleged that in spite of several demands made by their clients, the university is still taking steps to appoint a new Vice Chancellor based on the discriminatory advert publication.
Meanwhile, the claimants, in their suit, prayed the court to declare that “the Medical Fellowship, being the peak of a medical career, is equivalent to the academic title of a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) for the purposes of the advertisement made by the 1st defendant.”
They equally urged the court to make “a declaration that the 2nd claimant, being the holder of the Medical Fellowship is qualified to contest in the ongoing process to appoint the Vice Chancellor of the 1st defendant and an attempt to exclude the 2nd claimant from participating in the process is illegal, unconstitutional, null, void and of no effect whatsoever.
“A declaration that the Vanguard Newspaper publication of September 12, 2024, is a deviation from the publication used in the selection of the Vice Chancellor of the 1st defendant in 2019.
“A declaration that any appointment of the Vice Chancellor of the 1st defendant based on the Vanguard Newspaper publication of September 12, 2024, is illegal unconstitutional, null, and void and of no effect whatsoever.”
They, therefore, urged the court to set aside the newspaper publication, describing it as “an illegality.”
