By Admin
The National Industrial Court of Nigeria sitting in Calabar has halted the ongoing process for the selection of a new Vice-Chancellor at the University of Calabar (UNICAL).
The interim order followed a suit filed by a senior academic, Professor Joseph Eyo who is challenging the criteria set in an advertisement published on May 27, 2025, which mandates that applicants must have at least 10 years of post-professorial experience.
Duke, in Suit No. NICN/CA/40/2025, contends that the said requirement stems from an emergency council meeting held on March 25, 2025, which he describes as unlawful and based on a non-existent regulation.
In the motion ex-parte, dated and filed on July 21, 2025, the claimant sought an interim injunction restraining UNICAL and its Governing Council from implementing or acting upon the contested advertisement until the substantive motion is determined.
Upon hearing counsel to the claimant, Ubong Akpan, Hon. Justice Sanusi Kado granted an accelerated hearing of both the motion on notice and the main suit.
Justice Kado also directed that the case be transferred to the Abuja Division of the Industrial Court for hearing by a vacation judge.
Furthermore, the court ordered all parties to maintain the status quo and refrain from any actions that could undermine the fair hearing of the case. The motion on notice has been scheduled for hearing on August 7, 2025.
The court order, signed and sealed by the registrar, Egba Juliet Peter, on July 23, explicitly restrains the University and its Governing Council from taking further steps in the Vice-Chancellor recruitment exercise pending the outcome of the motion.
