One of the candidates for the Position of the Vice Chancellor of the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU), Prof. Chike Osegbue, has urged the court to declare the appointment of Prof. Kate Omenugha as illegal, absurd, arbitrary and void.
Prof. Osegbue, in an action filed at the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, Abuja, urged the court to declare him the substantive Vice Chancellor of COOU in compliance with the law of the university, being first of the three candidates recommended by the Council.
The number of the suit is: NICN/ARJ/275, and it has been listed for hearing on 3 September.
Recall that Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, who is the visitor of the institution on the 6th of August appointed Omenugha, who finished fifth on the final list of candidates, as the University Vice Chancellor.
The selection process was conducted by a joint committee of the University Council and Senate representatives, under the chairmanship of Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, the Pro-Chancellor.
Osegbue said the appointment of Omenugha was against the Law of COOU, which provided that the candidate with the highest score should be appointed, or the second or third placed candidates on the recommendation of the Council.
The six defendants in the matter are the Governor of Anambra, the Attorney General of Anambra, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, the Pro-chancellor and Chairman of Council, the Council of COOU, COOU and Omenugha
Osegbue said the appointment of Omenugha by Soludo was in defiance of Ordinance II (4) (d), read together with Statute VI (1) of the 1 Schedule to the COOU Law 2014 and therefore was illegal, absurd, arbitrary, condemnable and wrongful.
He said Omenugha was not among the top three candidates recommended by the Joint Committee of Council and Senate of the university after the interviews.
He said as the topmost of the three candidates ‘duly recommended’ by the Council, he was entitled as the right candidate to be appointed as the Vice-Chancellor of COOU by the governor instead of Omenugha.
Osegbue asked the court to “determine whether the governor could exercise such unbridled whimsical and or untrammeled powers to arbitrarily and unlawfully refuse, fail, ignore and or neglect the recommendation of the Council in the appointment of the VC.
“Determine whether the governor has legal authority to go outside the recommendation of the Council of COOU to appoint Omenugha as Vice-Chancellor in gross violation of the University Law of 2014 in place of the Claimant who came first amongst the three candidates duly recommended by the Council,” he said.
Osegbue prayed the court to nullify the appointment of Omenugha on the grounds that it was illegal, absurd, arbitrary, condemnable and wrongful.
He said Omenugha was not among the first three candidates recommended by the Joint Committee of Council and Senate of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University.
“A declaration that the purported appointment of Omenugha by Soludo as the Vice Chancellor is null, void and of no effect in that is contrary to and done in violation of Ordinance 11 (4) (d), read together with Statute VI (1) of the 1 Schedule to COOU Law 2014,” it said
Looks like a clear clash between due process and politics—court’s decision will set the tone for university governance.