When it became clear to the Vice Chancellor of the University of Uyo, Prof. Nyaudoh Ndaeyo, that his preferred successor, Prof. Aniekan Offiong, would not scale through the hurdles of the selection process, he reportedly shifted strategy. In a calculated political maneuver, sources say, Prof. Ndaeyo swiftly adopted another candidate — Prof. Patrick Linus Akpan from Essien Udim Local Government Area — in a bid to curry favor with the Senate President, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, the nation’s number three citizen.
However, a confidential letter leaked to our correspondent has exposed what insiders now describe as a coordinated and fraudulent scheme to position Prof. Akpan as the frontrunner for the Vice Chancellorship.
The Leaked Document
The two-page petition, dated November 10, 2025, and signed by Mr. Ekom Akpan Solomon (JP), was addressed to the Chairman of the University Governing Council. It accuses some powerful elements within the University Senate of colluding to manufacture administrative credentials for Prof. Akpan through what the author terms a “phony and fraudulent appointment.”
At the heart of the controversy is the creation of a questionable new office — “Provost, University of Uyo Business School” — announced at the 137th Meeting of Senate held on October 29, 2025.
“This appointment was a desperate scheme to give Prof. Patrick Akpan an administrative advantage in the ongoing Vice Chancellorship race,” a senior faculty source told Our Correspondent, corroborating details in the petition. “The term ‘Provost’ was deliberately chosen to score him points in the Council’s ranking system.”
A Title That Should Not Exist
The petition argues that the title “Provost” is alien to the Nigerian university structure except within medical colleges. The appropriate designation for a business school, it insists, should be “Director.”
“It was rightly pointed out to Senate that the nomenclature ‘Provost’ is a misnomer… Nevertheless, the observation was ignored,” Solomon wrote.
Multiple academic sources confirmed to this newspaper that the University of Uyo Business School is not a full-fledged faculty, making the appointment of a Provost not only irregular but procedurally indefensible.
A former Dean, who requested anonymity for fear of victimization, described the appointment as “a dangerous precedent.”
“If this goes unchallenged, tomorrow every unit can create new titles to fast-track someone’s rise. It’s corruption by rebranding,” the source warned.
The Candidate in Question
Records reviewed by Our Correspondent show that Prof. Patrick Linus Akpan last held a major administrative office more than a decade ago — as Director of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) Business School and Coordinator of the MBA Programme in 2012.
Since then, he has reportedly not occupied any position that qualifies as top-level administrative experience — a key requirement for consideration as Vice Chancellor under Nigerian university regulations.
“He has not functioned as such and lacks the requisite administrative experience,” the petition reads. “The appointment of Provost was made in October 2025 solely to provide him the needed points during assessment.”
A high-ranking academic familiar with the internal process confirmed that administrative experience carries significant weight in the Governing Council’s scoring template for Vice Chancellor candidates.
“Whoever controls the administrative record controls the race,” the official said.
Council in a Tight Corner
The letter, which has now gone viral across faculty WhatsApp groups, has placed the University’s Governing Council in a difficult position. Several senior staff members are calling for an internal audit of recent appointments, while others warn that any attempt to dismiss the petition could spark open protests.
“If the Council keeps silent, it means complicity,” a union representative said. “The system must not reward deceit.”
Efforts to reach Prof. Akpan for comments were unsuccessful as of press time. Calls and text messages to his known line were not returned. The Registrar’s office also declined official comment, saying the matter was “still under review.”
Meanwhile, a member of the Senate who attended the controversial meeting privately admitted that the nomenclature issue was raised but “hurriedly brushed aside.”
“Everyone could see it was a setup,” the source said. “But no one wanted to challenge it openly — not when the stakes are this high.”
A Pattern of Manipulation?
Observers within and outside the University note that the controversy fits a recurring pattern of behind-the-scenes manipulation that has marred leadership transitions in several Nigerian universities.
An Abuja-based education analyst described the University of Uyo case as “a mirror of the wider rot.”
“What you’re seeing here is institutional capture,” the analyst said. “Appointments are now engineered to favor preselected candidates, and the academic community is left to clean up the mess.”
Integrity on Trial
As the Vice Chancellorship race intensifies, the revelation of this alleged appointment fraud is expected to dominate discourse within the University of Uyo in the coming weeks.
In his closing appeal, Mr. Solomon urged the Governing Council to “discountenance the fraudulent appointment for what it is.”
“This is a phony and fraudulent appointment,” he wrote. “The integrity of the University must not be sacrificed on the altar of personal ambition.”
With the credibility of the process now under intense scrutiny, the University of Uyo stands at a crossroads — between institutional reform and institutional decay.