UNICAL Clinical Lecturers Begin Five-Day Solidarity Strike Over Exclusion from Vice-Chancellor Eligibility Criteria

Clinical lecturers at the University of Calabar (UNICAL) have embarked on a five-day solidarity strike alongside their counterparts from the South-East and South-South regions of Nigeria. The strike, which commenced on October 22, 2024, is in protest against the exclusion of clinical lecturers from the eligibility criteria for the Vice-Chancellor position in a recent job advertisement issued by Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.

Prof. Friday Odey, Chairman of the Medical & Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN), addressed the media to express the lecturers' discontent, labeling the exclusion as "unacceptable." He cautioned that if this practice is permitted to continue, it may set a precedent for other universities to implement similar discriminatory policies, thereby undermining the qualifications of clinical lecturers who hold positions of Lecturer I or higher.

“This situation diminishes the professional status of clinical lecturers, who have significantly contributed to their universities’ academic, research, and service missions,” Prof. Odey stated. He emphasized that the failure to address this exclusion could create a troubling trend across educational institutions, further sidelining clinical lecturers and devaluing their contributions.

Prof. Odey called on the Committees of Vice Chancellors and Pro Chancellors to take immediate action to amend the discriminatory advertisement, advocating for the inclusion of clinical lecturers in leadership selection processes within academic institutions.

“We stand in solidarity with our sister university and declare that we find this situation unacceptable. We urge relevant stakeholders to rectify the advertisement to rightfully include clinical lecturers in the system,” he concluded.