The National Industrial Court sitting in Calabar has ordered the immediate reinstatement of Prof. Austine Angba as the Vice Chancellor of the University of Cross River State (UNICROSS).
It ruled that Angba’s suspension by the university’s governing council was in violation of the provisions of the Act establishing institution.
The court’s decision, delivered on Thursday, could bring an end to the protracted crisis that had rocked the institution since Prof Angba’s suspension by the university’s governing council.
Also, the ruling is expected to have considerable implications on the university’s administration, particularly after the State Governor, Bassey Otu, had sacked the governing council.
The landmark judgment on Suit No. NICN/CA/34/2024, was the culmination of a prolonged legal battle between Professor Angba and the university’s governing council. The council had suspended the vice chancellor, citing allegations of misconduct and mismanagement.
However, the suspension was widely condemned by students, staff, and alumni of the university, who argued that the governing council’s action was unfair, biased, illegal.
This came weeks after the Governor of Cross River State, Bassey Otu, dissolved the Governing Council of the school and appointed Prof. Francisca Bassey as the new Acting Vice Chancellor of the University and Dr. Fidelis Ugbo as the Pro-Chancellor.
