Clinical lecturers at the University of Calabar, who are part of the Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN), have ended their strike.
They started the strike on June 13, 2025, because they felt they were unfairly left out of the process to choose a new Vice-Chancellor for the university.
The lecturers said the university’s job advert for the Vice-Chancellor role was unfair and excluded members of the clinical faculty.
In a memo dated June 13, signed by the local MDCAN Chairman, Dr. Patience Odusolu, and Secretary, Dr. Ehiosun Aigbomian, the group demanded that the job advert be changed to allow clinical lecturers to apply. They said they would not return to work until this was done.
However, MDCAN’s National President, Prof. Muhammad Muhammad, said on Monday that the issue had been resolved after the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, stepped in.
Prof. Muhammad explained that clinical lecturers are trained differently. Instead of doing a Master’s or PhD, they go through a residency program that lasts six to eight years. This training ends with a fellowship, which qualifies them to work as consultants in hospitals and lecturers in universities.
He added that people with medical fellowships have often become Vice Chancellors in the past and done well in the role.
In Calabar, the university had insisted that only those with PhDs could apply for the Vice-Chancellor job, even though the federal guidelines allow for either a PhD or a fellowship. That was the main cause of the conflict. He thanked the Minister for helping to solve the problem.
The university has now updated the job advert to say that candidates with either a PhD or a medical fellowship can apply for the Vice-Chancellor position.
After this change, the clinical lecturers at the University of Calabar returned to work last week.
