Prof. Effiong Johnson, a Vice Chancellor aspirant in the University of Uyo, has challenged his disqualification by the Governing Council at the Federal High Court.
Johnson, who is a former Dean of Students Affairs, said in Uyo on Sunday that he was surprised that only his name was omitted from those invited for final interview to the office of the Vice Chancellor.
“As the university orator, I am not satisfied with the treatment meted to me by the governing council of which I have been a member for three terms.
“The advert declaring vacant the position of the vice chancellor of the University of Uyo came out in the punch newspaper of April 28, 2015 and criteria for the person of the vice chancellor were clearly stated.
“This is my third term in the governing council; with that credential, I am not a novice, neither do I fall short of the requirements for the vice chancellorship position.
“Item B which, among others, stated that the person of a vice chancellor, as advertised, should have had twenty years of experience in the university setting, ten of which must be as a professor.
“I also heard some rumour that the governing council may have had another interpretation to that particular criterion.
“I clocked ten years as a professor on Oct. 1, 2015, and the interview for that job was billed for Oct. 15, 2015.
“So, I had to institute a case challenging the process of my not being invited in the Federal High Court,’’ Johnson said.
He said that before the interview was conducted, the university was served with an injunction restraining the governing council from conducting the interview.
He said that in spite of the injunction, the university went ahead to conduct the interview without inviting him
Johnson said the fact that he was not invited for the interview was evidence that something was wrong which the court must unravel.
It would be recalled that on Oct. 19, the university Registrar/Secretary to council, Mrs Edak Umondak, announced that the governing council had approved the appointment of Prof. Enefiok Essien, as the new vice chancellor for the institution. (NAN)
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