Court Orders  Rivers Varsity To Pay former VC Seven years salary arrears

…I refused to speak about my ordeals for the past Seven years – Fakae

Daniel Efe/Port Harcourt

 Industrial Court in Port Harcourt has directed the Rivers State University, RSU, authority to pay the Seven years salaries arrears owed its former Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barineme Fakae.

Prof. Fakae, a Professor of Veterinary Medicine, had sued the Rivers State University at the Industrial Court for stopping his salaries on the allegation that his employment was irregular.

Fakae had moved from the University of Nigeria Nsukka to the Rivers State University where he became  Vice Chancellor for eight years, 2007-2015.

In August 2015 he handed over to  Prof. Blessing Didia after the expiration on his tenure and started working as a Lecturer after transferring his service from the University  of Nigeria to the Rivers State University but his salaries were stopped.

The presiding Judge, Justice Polycap  Hamman, ruled that his employment was regular and valid. He also said that it was illegal for the University to withhold  Prof. Fakae’s  salaries for the aforesaid period of years and ordered that he be paid all his entitlements in full.

The former Vice Chancellor told Journalists that he had passed through harrowing ordeals in the past Seven years without salaries without letting them out to the public or the press because of the negative image it would have brought to the  institution. He thanked God for the victory. 

Our Correspondent recalls Prof. Fakae worked in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and later took up position as the Rector of the Rivers State Polytechnic, Bori. He was the Vice-Chancellor of the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt, 2007-2015, during the former Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi administration. His tenure in the University witnessed massive infrastructural development, evidence of academic orderliness and vigorous implementation of an ICT Master Plan with the sole aim of leveraging e-technology for effective curriculum delivery and research.

At the time of filing this report, it was not clear if the University will proceed on appeal against the judgement.