Clinical lecturers at the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, under the umbrella of the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria, have threatened to embark on a strike if what they described to be discriminatory policies regarding the appointment of a new Vice Chancellor for the institution are not reversed.
In a memo addressed to the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council, the lecturers expressed concern over certain qualification criteria for the vice-chancellor position.
They said the requirements were designed to exclude clinical lecturers and seemed tailored to favour a specific section of the university community, or a particular candidate or small group.
The memo, signed by MDCAN Chairman at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, Dr Ibiok Usendiah, and Secretary, Dr Solomon Bassey, dated June 13, 2025, was titled, “Exclusion of clinical lecturers/Professors from the race for office of the VC of UNIUYO; protest against discrimination.”
The clinical lecturers gave the governing council a two-week ultimatum to address their concerns before the expiration of the six-week application window for the VC position.
They stated that members would reconvene on July 1, 2025, to review developments and decide on a course of action.
The lecturers urged the pro-chancellor to use his office to address what they described as unjust policies and to help create a more inclusive process that reflected the diversity and realities of the academic community.
The memo read, “Despite this prolonged and tortuous training programme to become clinical lecturers, the governing council of UNIUYO, unfortunately, opted to exclude them from the headship of the university as vice-chancellors, despite the fact that medical professors with fellowships have served creditably as vice-chancellors of various older universities in the country.
“Agitations against discrimination of medical doctors in the conventional universities has led to the recent creation of universities of health sciences in the country with medical doctors as vice-chancellors while the Nigerian Association of Medical and Dental Academics has been created to cater to the needs of medical doctors still teaching in conventional universities as ASUU appeared not to be protecting our interests.
“Agitations for the carving out of colleges of health sciences from conventional universities to form autonomous universities of health sciences with their own vice-chancellors may begin to gather steam in view of all these discriminatory policies by governing councils against medical doctors.
“We wish to use this medium and appeal to you to use your good offices and address these discriminatory policies that were churned out by the governing council before your appointment, to accommodate all sectors of the academia within the next two weeks before the expiration of the six weeks advertisement period.”
It said the association would convene on July 1, 2025, to review developments and take appropriate actions.
“We cannot guarantee industrial harmony in the university if these discriminatory policies are not reversed, bearing in mind that our strike, which was suspended by the Nigerian Medical Association to allow the university management to address some pressing issues, is still active.
“We appreciate you sir for sparing your time to look into our plight as we await favourable responses from you,” it added.
Meanwhile, clinical lecturers at the University of Calabar, also under MDCAN, have already embarked on an indefinite strike, demanding a more inclusive advertisement for the vice-chancellor position at their institution.
The lecturers at UNICAL are protesting what they described as their deliberate exclusion from the ongoing selection process, citing the university governing council’s refusal to amend a job advert they claimed discriminates against the clinical faculty.