Clinical lecturers at the University of Calabar have ended their indefinite strike and resumed academic activities following the resolution of a dispute over the ongoing selection process for a new Vice Chancellor.
The lecturers, under the Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria, began the industrial action on June 13, 2025, citing their exclusion from the eligibility criteria outlined in the university’s advertisement for the Vice Chancellor position. They claimed the job listing discriminated against clinical academics who hold medical fellowships instead of conventional PhDs.
In a memo issued at the onset of the strike, the MDCAN UNICAL chapter, led by Dr. Patience Odusolu (Chairman) and Dr. Ehiosun Aigbomian (Secretary), demanded a revision of the advertisement to include medical fellowship holders.
The national leadership of MDCAN has now confirmed that the issue has been resolved after the direct intervention of the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa.
Speaking on the development, MDCAN National President, Professor Muhammad Muhammad, explained the core of the disagreement, “In clinical medicine, we don’t follow the conventional Master’s or PhD route. Our training is through a rigorous residency programme, which culminates in the award of a fellowship. This fellowship is the benchmark for appointing consultants in hospitals and lecturers in universities.”
He added that medical professionals can rise through academic ranks—starting from Lecturer I to Professor—based on established standards, and that many past Vice Chancellors have held medical fellowships rather than PhDs.
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“Despite federal guidelines that permit candidates with medical fellowships to apply for top university leadership roles, the University of Calabar insisted on PhD-only qualifications. That was the basis of our protest,” he said.
Professor Muhammad confirmed that the university has now issued an amended job advert, including candidates with either a PhD or a fellowship in clinical medicine.
“We appreciate the Minister of Education for his decisive role in resolving the crisis. The new advert now acknowledges the eligibility of both PhD holders and fellows,” he said.
