…expose outgoing VC’s high-handedness, nepotism
By our correspondent
A fresh wave of controversy has engulfed the University of Uyo following revelations that the Vice Chancellor, Professor Nyaudoh Ndaeyo, has vowed to personally handpick his successor in a desperate move to shield what sources describe as “a legacy of concealed rot” under his administration.
Multiple anonymous sources within the university community, including senior academic staff and insiders within the Vice Chancellor’s close-knit circle, have confirmed to our correspondent that Prof. Ndaeyo is determined to impose a successor who would protect his interests even after his tenure ends.
“He told a few of his trusted associates, including a former Vice Chancellor who played a key role in his own controversial emergence, that he cannot afford to allow someone he does not trust to take over,” said a source within the Vice Chancellor’s inner caucus. “He fears that if a neutral or principled person becomes VC, many of the hidden transactions and irregularities that occurred under his watch may be exposed.”
A senior academic who requested anonymity alleged that Prof. Ndaeyo is also trying to entrench ethnic bias in the university’s leadership structure. “The reason he packed the University Governing Council with people from his Ikono/Ini sub-bloc is not far-fetched. He needs loyalists who can back his selfish voyage,” the source said.
Checks by this reporter reveal that more than six individuals from the Vice Chancellor’s home area—either by birth or through marital ties—currently hold key positions in the University Governing Council. This has sparked outrage among members of the academic community who accuse the Vice Chancellor of turning the university into an ethnic enclave.
In what appears to be a coordinated pushback, a coalition of lecturers under the banner Concerned Professors of the University of Uyo has petitioned the Chairman of the Governing Council, demanding urgent intervention. The professors are calling for the removal of what they describe as “dubious and alien clauses” that Prof. Ndaeyo allegedly smuggled into the eligibility criteria for the next Vice Chancellor in a bid to disqualify more qualified candidates.
“We cannot sit and watch one man destroy the merit-based tradition of this institution,” a professor who signed the petition told our reporter under condition of anonymity. “This is no longer about personal ambition—it’s about the soul of the University of Uyo.”
The petition further describes Prof. Ndaeyo’s attempt to predetermine his successor as “a blatant abuse of office and an affront to the principle of university autonomy.”
At the time of filing this report, the Vice Chancellor had not responded to inquiries sent to his office regarding the allegations.
However, the storm is far from over. As tension rises on campus and more voices demand transparency in the succession process, it remains to be seen whether the university’s governing council will act to restore public confidence—or continue to dance to the tune of what many now call “Ndaeyo’s Last Plot.”
