The Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) has condemned the exclusion of medical and dental lecturers from applying for the Vice-Chancellor (VC) position at Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka, Anambra State.
The Association described the move as unjust and detrimental to the institution’s development.
In a statement signed by MDCAN National President, Muhammad Muhammad, and Secretary-General, Daiyabu Ibrahim, the association expressed strong disapproval of the university’s recent advertisement for the VC position, which bars medical and dental lecturers from being eligible.
MDCAN, the umbrella body representing medical and dental consultants in government hospitals and universities, emphasized that such exclusion undermines the important role medical professionals play in the academic and administrative leadership of the university.
“Medical and dental education is integral to the university’s mission of producing skilled healthcare professionals. Excluding medical and dental lecturers from leadership roles undermines their contribution to national and global health systems,” the statement read.
MDCAN also warned that this exclusion could diminish academic collaboration, lower morale among medical and dental staff, and affect the quality of education within the institution.
The association called on the university’s Governing Council to withdraw the advertisement and ensure fair representation of all academic disciplines, especially medical and dental lecturers, in the selection process.
In addition, the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Medical Alumni Association has called for the immediate withdrawal of the VC vacancy advertisement. The association, represented by Evaristus Afiadigwe, pointed out that the requirements for a PhD and evidence of securing specific research funding were discriminatory and in breach of the University Act. According to them, the advertisement focused on individual achievements rather than the qualities specified by the Act.
Afiadigwe argued that clinical lecturers and other qualified candidates were effectively excluded, and emphasized that a medical fellowship is of equal, if not greater, academic standing than a PhD.
The Alumni Association urged the university authorities to issue a revised advertisement that reflects fair and inclusive requirements for the VC position, free from discrimination.
Both MDCAN and the Medical Alumni Association stressed that a swift resolution is needed to prevent the situation from escalating into a broader crisis within the university and potentially affecting the national academic landscape.
