UNICAL VC Receives Delegation From NBA

The Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar, Prof. Florence Banku Obi has received a delegation from the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA in her office.

The delegation which was led by the first female National Vice President of the Association, Mrs. Linda Bala told the VC that their visit was at the behest of the National Chairman of the association, Mr. Yakubu Maikyau regarding the issues making the headlines about one of their own, Prof. Cyril Osim Ndifon in the institution and to investigate the matter.

Mrs. Bala told the VC that as an umbrella body of Lawyers in Nigeria, NBA is very interested in the matter and would want to get to the root of it.

In her reaction, the Vice-Chancellor thanked them for their concerns, but however expressed sadness on why the institution is not visited for positive thing by the NBA, but for a very sad one.

Prof. Obi while eulogising the first female NBA Vice President, said she would have been more glad to have the University on positive things globally, however noted that the institution cannot run away from what is confronting it now.

The Vice-Chancellor who seemingly went on a history lane, recounted the first incident that led to the suspension of the embattled Dean in 2015 stating that after his recall in 2017, there was a proviso that he should not hold any position of authority in the University for at least a period of 6years, but the University Governing Council on a special appeal granted him a waver on that.

Lamenting the situation, Prof. Obi tasked the delegation to be thorough in their investigations as she\’s certain that they will unravel even more issues.

The Vice-Chancellor said that she had advised and counseled the Dean of Law in his first tenure when some cases of harassment came up while warning him that he should not allow affliction to arise the second time.Narrating the situation, the Vice Chancellor said they were shocked that such things were still perpetrated by Prof. Ndifon when the Law Students leadership tendered a formal petition and subsequently staged a protest to the Administrative Block of the Institution.

Prof. Obi further stated that while the management of the institution is more interested in other issues including admission racketeering, quality of teaching, mobilization to Law School raised by the students, the issue of sexual harassment seems to garner more prominence because the inscriptions on most of the placards were centred on that.

Espousing on how opened and accessible her Administration has been, Obi said almost all students in the University have her contact except those who do not want to, hence, it has encouraged students to have easy access to her.

The Vice President was accompanied in the visit by the Assistant National General Secretary, Mr. Daniel K. Kip, the NBA State Chairman, Mr. Nsikak Ikpeme, Esq, among others.