The Nnamdi Azikiwe University Medical Alumni Association (UMAA) has condemned the exclusion of medical professionals in the institution’s Vice-Chancellor selection advertised on a national dailies.
The President of the association, Prof. Evaristus Afiadigwe, at a news conference in Abuja on Monday, called for the immediate withdrawal and review of the advert.
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According to him, the decision of the institution’s governing council for the selection of a new vice-chancellor did not recognise those in the medical fellowship of the institution.
“There was an advert on the appointment of Vice-Chancellor of the university. The UMAA represent all the medical graduates of the university both within and outside the country.
“We addressed a letter to the pro-chancellor, chairman of governing council regarding the advert for the appointment of a VC when we noticed some discrepancies and some discriminating content in the advert.
“We held a meeting and made the observations that are very key. There were a lot of breaches of the provisions of the Act of the university as made in 1992 and the amendment.
“Notably is that the council is mandated to specify the qualities of the candidates that would be appointed as the V-C, but erroneously, the advert focused on the minimum skills and personal achievement which are not supported by law.
” The second is the discriminatory requirement that excluded members of the medical profession,” he said.
He said that the medical professionals grew in their training and career after running a six years MBBS.
He further said that after a practitioner passed the primary exam, they move into the residency training and stay up to 10 years depending on the course.
“And after that, get employed in the university if you want to go into academics, and you continue to grow to become a professor.
“This advert however did not recognise this fellowship as a qualification to vie for the office of the Vice Chancellor and this is very unfortunate,” he said.
Afiadigwe called for the release of a new advertisement that would reflect the quality of person seeking the office of a vice-chancellor.
He said that there should not be discrepancies in the selection process, noting that the alumni association was not interested in who emerged, so long as the right thing was done.
Also, Dr Victor Modekwe, Chairman, Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN), Nnamdi Azikiwe Teaching Hospital (NAUTH), said the decision of the governing council has led to strike actions in the university.
According to him, members of the association have embarked on strike and this is not too good for our students as we urge those involved to reverse this decision.
He said that several letters had been written to the council to revert the advertorial but nothing was done, which led to the strike action by its members.
He said that the Federal Ministry of Education and the National Universities Commission (NUC) were aware of this anomalies, urging them to prevail on the council to revert the decision.
(NAN)
